Wednesday, 9th July 2014.....
Conference resumed sitting at 9:24 am after saying the national prayer.
Votes and proceedings of the previous day were read, amended and adopted as amended.
The early hours of the day was devoted for discussing the modalities for implementation of conference report. Most delegates were of the opinion that the report of the conference should be categorized into three;
- The policy issues - which need immediate implementation,
- The legislative and
- Constitutional.
Some suggested the need for a referendum, others argued that the constitution does not recognize a referendum.
Some delegates and I suggested the need for uploading the report of the conference online so Nigerians could have access to the report of the conference online.
After the recommendation was made by a delegate another said; what's the point uploading it on internet - Internet people will cut it and misquote it.
Someone even went as far as saying are we worshiping the internet? Why must we put it online?
When I stood up to make my speech I reaffirmed the need for uploading the reports of the conference on the internet.
Also I told them no recommendation is more equal than the other but some recommendations are more equal than the other especially that of - National Security.
They should make it top on the priority of implementation.
Finally on that day, conference took decision on the Land Use Act - I was a member of the special committee that was tasked with the mandate of coming up with a consensus that will be approved and accepted by the majority.
It was a month of side meeting and negotiation and getting resource persons to discuss on the issue.
Finally we brought these findings and resolution to the floor and the house accepted it.
Most of the resource persons we invited even those that want the act removed from the constitution don't want it removed completely.
While does that from the onset don't want act removed argued that;
Allowing the Act to go would give chance for oligarchs to take over lands which the Land Use Act has democratized with the government as the intervening body. Since land is not a renewable commodity, it must not be left at the mercy of land speculators; and that removing it from the constitution would be discriminatory and unjust to the poor.
Removing the Act from the constitution again they argued would create dichotomy; describing the suggestion as a grand design for the rich to buy land at cheap prices, a situation that would lead to crisis that cannot be managed.
The resource person that argued for its removal however argued that.
The Land Use Act should remain a law but must be removed from the constitution to make it easy for amendment.
They argued that at present, amending the Act through the constitution has become too cumbersome.
They complained that government have taken peoples land and have refused to pay compensation; and that since the promulgation of the Act, access to land has remained a major problem, thus hindering economic development.
They also stated that the power of compulsory acquisition vested on state governors has been, in most cases, used arbitrarily without the payment of adequate compensation to land owners.
The committee noted that both sides of the argument were convincing; but those that want it removed actually don't want it removed completely. And their main argument was the issue of amendment, and those that don't want it removed however have no objection to amendment of the act. If the act is not removed completely from the constitution then it will still be cumbersome to amend, so we decided to suggest some amendments to the act, to take care of the difficulties it pose. That made the committee come up with the following amendments. Which was adopted by the conference;
The Act would be retained in the constitution while certain amendments would be carried out in certain sections of the Act.
Enable land owners to determine the price and value of their land. Government to negotiate with land owners and not compensate them.
Customary right of occupancy in Section 21 of the Act be amended to read “Customary Right of Occupancy should have the same status as statutory Right of Occupancy, and should also be extended to urban land”.
Section 7 of the Act which deals with the restriction on rights of persons under the age of 21 to be granted statutory right of occupancy should be amended to read “restriction of persons under the age of 18”. This, it was argued, is because the Child Rights Act stipulates that a person attains adulthood at the age of 18.
With the decision on the issue of the Land Use Act, the report of the Committee on Land Tenure Matters and National Boundary was formally adopted, as amended.
Yesterday I informed you that conference deferred voting of recommendations due to the appeal made by General Ike Nwachukwu and Hon Mohammed Kumalia in view of the consensus ongoing by a special committee comprising of leaders of geopolitical zones and delegates from the different zones, on the matter of derivation.
The Committee on Devolution of Power had in its report recommended that due to the sharp division created during discussions on the issue and based on the capacity of such division to destabilize the Conference and even the nation, the status quo (13%) be maintained.
This it said was to avoid upsetting “the existing peace and equilibrium in the polity,” which it described as a product of years of political engineering and craftsmanship by the founding fathers of the Nigerian nation.
However, tempers started rising during the debate on the report some delegates insisted on increase between 25% and 50%, other said nothing more than the position of the Committee on Devolution of Power would be acceptable.
Egos were massaged...
The special committee that appealed yesterday came with their resolutions; Professor Ibrahim Gambari presented the report of the special committee.
He announced the committee has resolved that;
- Derivation fund be increased from 13% to 18%;
-He also announced a 5% federal revenue allocation for solid mineral development - Which is part if the report of the committee.
- And another 5% for Stabilisation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of affected places in North East, North West and North Central.
He said the decision was reached after two straight days and several hours of meeting and negotiation between all the interest groups which extended beyond the leadership of the six geo-political zones.
"The decision of the group was guided by the belief that there would be no winners and there would be no losers; and that the only winner would be the Nigerian nation".
“We have reached agreement whereby no one will be completely unhappy,”.
As soon as Professor Gambari ended his presentation, murmurs and point of orders followed, many hands went up for re-opening of debate on the issue. Some delegates applauded the decision of the special committee.
Conference Deputy Chairman, after consultation with the Conference Chairman, announced that voting on the recommendations of the Committee on Devolution of Power would hold the following day- Thursday during which a decision would also be taken on the Report of the special committee read by Prof Gambari.
We then adjourned at 2:55 pm to resume the following day at 9am.
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