Day 38: My National Conference Exploits (Science and Technology)

Monday day 9th June 2014.

 
Conference resumed sitting at 09:10 am, presided over by the chairman, votes and proceedings of Thursday were read, amended and adopted.

Announcement:
The deputy chair called on a delegate who announced the death of HRH, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero (CFR) on Friday 6th June 2014 to give a brief history of the late Emir, after which the deputy chairman announced the death of Prof Dora Nkem Akunyili on Saturday 7th June, 2014.

The conference observed a minute silence in honor of the departed souls and resolved to send letters of condolence to the bereaved families as well as the government and people of Kano and Anambra states respectively.

Delegates paid heart touching tributes to the late delegate, Prof Dora - the mood of the house on that day was sober.

Committee began deliberation on the report of the committee on science and technology which was presented on Thursday.

These were some of the additional recommendations made;

- The committee recommended that In order to elevate scientific and technological development in Nigeria, a National Science and Technology Fund should be established by the Federal Government for utilization in science, technology and innovation activities.

It was suggested that the Fund when established would be managed by a Presidential Council for Science, Technology and Innovation including all the Nigerian Academies.

The envisaged Council will render accounts of its operations to the Senate either on annual or periodic basis as would be decided by an enabling law.

- Setting up of viable military industrial complex as obtained in advanced countries of the world to contribute to the development of science and technology in Nigeria.

- In order to empower all registered professional bodies in the building industry to perform their expected roles, Conference called on the National Assembly to urgently pass into law the National Building Code.

 A youth delegate suggested the need for the establishment of Abuja National Museum of Science and History to encourage the younger generations in the study of science as well as to encourage research among academics.

I made a comment to the effect that technology has greatly united my generation and we are so united by the click of a button, they should make no mistake about dividing this country - we will use the power of technology to fight them. Again I spoke on the need to encourage young innovators giving them an instance of a friend of mine who does a security surveillance robot, I added that it's unfortunate we import things as mediocre as tooth pick yet we have the best brains that can do amazing things, give them incentives to start up and patronize them.

We then adopted the report of the committee on science and technology as amended.

Modification of Procedure for discussion of committee report; 

Conference considered a proposal by the chairman of the conference who solicited for understanding of delegates to modify the procedure for deliberating committee reports. The Chairman explained that the conference has five weeks to conclude its assignment and submit reports to government. He noted that it no longer looks realistic to take over 150 contributions from delegates on each committee report, he therefore suggested that henceforth, chairmen of committees will present their respective reports and any proposed amendment to the report from delegates shall be submitted in writing to the secretariat before 6pm on the day preceding consideration of the report. The amendment will then be presented to the conference for voting - the conference reluctantly adopted the new procedure for discussion of committee’s reports as proposed. 

So the next committee in line was the committee on Agric headed by Alhaji Umaru Muhamad Hedija he presented the report on Agriculture and water resources.

On the same day, the Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment under the leadership of Hajiya Bola Shagaya and Mr. Fola Adeola as deputy also presented their report to the Conference. 

I will give the recommendations of these committees and additional recommendations by delegates in my next post.

These report would be considered on Tuesday.

Conference adjourned at 5:32 pm to resume on Tuesday 9am.

Day 37: National Conference Exploits (Public Service & Sci and Tech)

Thursday, 5th June 2014...

On this day, conference resumed sittingat 9:05 am, presided over by the chairman.

Votes and proceedings of the previous day were  read, amended and adopted. 

Announcement:
The deputy chair announced that delegates who are of the Engineering profession are requested by their colleagues to sign-up a register at the conference venue.

We concluded voting of additional recommendation of the report of the committee on public service. 

The recommendation of increase of retirement age was rejected - Yes!

My recommendation that henceforth, no agency of government should charge any fee, no matter how little, from fresh graduates before offering them employment in the public service was accepted and adopted - except for the few nays heard, our criminals are not far from us sometimes.

Another recommendation I made that - to make it easy for fresh graduates, recruitment centers should be set up at state levels for applicants - that was agreed unanimously.

Motion for the federal character commission to be upgraded to include equal opportunities was read and unanimously adopted by the conference.

Terms of the motion 

- Federal character commission should be upgraded to address issues of equity and equal opportunities in order to take care of other key sectors and group in the society.

- That the law establishing the federal character commission be reviewed to reflect the above proposal.

- Furthermore, the commission should be rename de equal opportunities commission, so as to be able to address the issues of affirmative action for the people with disabilities (as already noted on page 44 of the report of the public service commission) and other vulnerable groups including ethnic and religious minorities - women, youth and other sector of the society that are often excluded.

Additional recommendations; where either the President or the National Assembly fails to meet the timeliness set for the passage of the Appropriation Bill, government will have to shut down operations.

Another recommendation agreed on is that; Section 82 of the 1999 Constitution which deals with authorization of expenditure in default of appropriation be amended to stop any expenditure by government in the event of a delay in the passage of the budget with established timelines.

I guess I have told you about the agreement that Appropriation Bill for the coming year must be presented to the National Assembly on or beforeSeptember 30 of every year while the process of passage by the National Assembly must be completed within two months for Presidential assent in December.

Three amendments were suggested to include that Section 59 (3) of the 1999 Constitution be amended to include that:
i.              where the National Assembly fails to consider and pass the Appropriation Bill within the stated time frame, the bill shall be sent to Mr President for his/her assent.
ii.            That failure to adhere to the time frame stated for the presentation of the Appropriation Bill shall form part of the definition of misconduct as stated in Sections 142 (11) and 188 (11) respectively.
iii.            In the event that the budget is not approved by the 2nd of January, Government should operate on the basis of 75% of previous year’s Budget as an interim measure to avoid shut down.  

However, All three suggestions were rejected as delegates insisted that failure to meet the deadlines by either of the parties should result in a shut-down of government, as no expenditure would be allowed as contained in Section 82 of the 1999 Constitution. This is to stem the current situation where both the Executive and the Legislature do not seem to be bothered about delays in budget presentation and approval. Giving conditions in a situation of failure was viewed as indulgence.

An amendment that faced serious defeat was the recommendation made by women that ; 40% of the ministers so appointed by the President under the said section should be female - if you hear the nayyyyyyy ehen, it was deafening...

The suggestion that labour and minimum wage issues be moved to the Concurrent Legislative List as against the current exclusive legislative list was rejected.

The Committee had recommended that since the minimum wage is fixed at a level just above the poverty line, and it is the duty of the Federal Government to ensure that the pay of every Nigerian is above the poverty line, labour matters should retained in the Exclusive Legislative list.

However, an amendment that minimum wage be raised from N18, 000 to not less than N40, 000 for public servants was rejected - mind you I didn't reject that o :(

A recommendation by the Committee that a new sub-section be introduced in the 1999 Constitution that would compel government to review public sector pay every five years to take cognizance of trends in the cost of living was approved by the Conference and adopted.

The committee on public service report was then adopted as amended.

Next committee - science, technology and development report was read by their chairman, comments on the report were taken by the conference. Some of the recommendations the committee made were; 

- For effective contribution and synergy in the science and technology sector, and to ensure continuity and seriousness of purpose, the Presidential Council on Science, Technology and Innovation should be enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

The report noted that in Nigeria, technological adaptation and innovation through research and development have been thwarted by very low and uncertain funding.

For instance, it stated that at its peak in 1982, capital budget allocation to science and technology was N99 million; in 1983, it was N68 million; in 1984, it was reduced to a mere N14 million while in 1985; it went down to a miserable N7.5 million.

It said the way forward was for Nigeria to strengthen the basic science and technology infrastructure and modern research facilities needed to execute projects that can lead to innovation.

The Committee said government should fund science and technology development programs with up to 2% of the Federation Account while state governments should contribute to research by way of research projects.

Government, it said, should make it mandatory for every industry to establish research units, contribute money to the Science and Technology Development Trust Fund, and give scholarships to individuals and institutions to carry out research

They stressed on the need for governors to up their game on power generation, transmission and distribution; steel industries and machine tools; and national metallurgical development centre; among others.

The Committee observed that Nigeria is yet to implement the African Union resolution that a minimum of one per cent GDP of nations should be dedicated to research and development purposes.

It called for increased campaign to create public awareness in science and technology and their vital role in national development through all possible means, including the media, research and development.

The committee recommended that the Nigerian Academy of Science and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, because of their linkages as professional bodies should, through a deliberate policy be engaged in order to enhance the impact of science and technology output on the economy.

To ensure the rapid growth of science and technology, the Committee recommended promotion of academic industry linkage programmes to enhance knowledge sharing through mandatory exposure of academics to industry in the design of programmes in educational institutions.

They also recommended the need for the introduction of necessary legal frameworks to ensure that activities of the social media operators are properly guided and streamlined to avoid abuse and the need for government to make laws to regulate the operations of cyber cafes for the protection of children and under-aged users - See they want to come after us :)

Well after the committee chairman presented their report, the conference adjourned at 6:36 pm to resume on Monday to open debate on the committee on science and technology report.

Day 36: My National Conference Exploits (Public Service)

Wednesday 4th June 2014...

Conference resumed sitting at 9:00am, presided over by the chairman. 

The votes and proceedings of the previous day were read, amended and adopted.

Announcement:
The deputy chair announced that he will hold a special meeting with some delegates by 3:00 pm and 6:00pmrespectively in his office on the 4th June, 2014 – I was part of the special meeting, wanna know on what? Pay me!!!

Well after that, debate on the committee on Public Service began…

Some of the recommendation and additional recommendation made were;

- Except otherwise decided, henceforth, legislators at national and state levels would operate on part-time basis, payment of pension, life insurance and severance allowances where such existed are to be cancelled in line with global best practices.

Former lawmakers and aspiring law makers’ of courses did not find it funny, they were quick to kick against the decision on the grounds that holding a political office is not the same thing as being a career public servant; and that the Legislature as presently constituted is operating on part-time basis because members do not sit for a whole week.

A delegate explained to them that part-time in this context meant "no sitting, no payment" 

Further recommendations;

- State governors and their deputies are to be exempted from payment of severance allowances, life insurance and payment of pension.

- Each state of the federation should have its own State Character Commission to protect the interest of minority ethnic groups in the state.

This implies that minority groups in the 36 states of the federation would soon enjoy equal treatment in appointments into public service of their different states.

This is meant to address the obvious restrictions to the application of the Federal Character Principles at the state and local government levels.

- Transfers into the directorate level of the civil service from outside be prohibited - don't know why though! 

- There should be mandatory training as a basis for consideration for promotion to the middle management level of the service.

- Civil service across the nation should operate common rules and practices so that the citizenry is not confronted with different procedures when dealing with each arm and tier of government.

- They also recommended that retirement age for civil servants, in line with international best practice, be fixed at 65 or forty years of active service; from the present practice of 60 years of age or 35 - Well I told them that I am willing to leave the civil service before I complete 35years as a sacrifice for my future children so we expect them to make such sacrifice for us and leave it as it is - status quo.

- Creation of a separate Foreign Service Commission with a chairman and six commissioners, one of whom should be from each of the six geo-political zones.

- Efforts be made by government at all levels to make public offices disability-friendly by providing special access facilities in line with international charters and treaties.

- Government at all levels should add allowances equivalent to Salary Grade Level 6 to the pay of each of the Persons Living with Disability to enable them employ an aide.

- Need for the appointment of Secretary to Government of the Federation based on managerial capacity and rich civil service experience which can only be sourced from the pool of retired top civil servants.

- Minimize disparities in the public sector pay, particularly between political appointees, public officers, civil servants and the staff of parastatals while emphasizing a friction-free relationship between the political leadership of ministries, departments and agencies and their top civil servants.

- Henceforth, no political appointee, from ministers to commissioners and local government chairmen should employ special advisers, special assistants, and personal assistants or make any such appointments by any name called.

Instead, as a cost saving measure, such political office holders should utilize the staff of their ministries where it becomes necessary, as contained in Circular Reference Number B63833/73 of January 3, 2000.

As another cost-saving measure, the Committee recommended amendment of Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution which demands appointment by the President of at least one minister from each state of the federation.

Instead, it asked that the section be reframed to indicate that the President shall appoint not more than one minister from each state of the federation.

This recommendation is expected to restrict the President from appointing six more ministers from each of the six geo-political zones as has been the practice since the provision does not limit the president from appointing more than one minister from a state.

- Full implementation of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to ensure payroll integrity and eliminate ghost workers in the civil service, parastatals, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the military and para-military was also recommended.

- Describing budget as a major tool for attaining government’s socio-economic development objectives through sectoral allocation of financial resources, the committee said doubts have been raised recently on the efficacy of budgets.

It said these concerns have led to the rethinking of budgeting and financial management systems and has constituted one of the major pillars of public service reforms. Going further, the Committee said the essence of budget reform and expenditure control is to make budget systems more transparent and ensure a more strategic approach to resource allocation and management.

In order to strengthen the budget performance and expenditure management process, the Committee recommended the establishment of a national framework for monitoring and evaluating budget performance.

It also recommended that every Appropriation Bill sent to the National Assembly should include key performance indicators and effective sanctions for non-performance.

- In the fight against corruption, the Committee tasked anti-corruption agencies to ensure that every anti-corruption fight addresses the root cause of corruption such as poor remuneration in the public service, lack of social security, degenerated value system that encourages wealth accumulation and lack of social security.

The report called for diligent prosecution of all cases of corruption and, particularly, the creation of special courts for speedy determination of corruption cases; while also emphasizing the need for monitoring of the lifestyle of public officers and enforcement of the provisions of Code of Conduct Bureau.

- On incentives for public servants, service welfare and productivity, the Committee said the civil service is simply bereft of any meaningful benefit, especially since the implementation of the monetization policy.

It observed that retirees under the old pension scheme have been exposed to a lot of hardships due to irregular payment of pension and gratuity; a situation it said has been compounded by non-compliance with the constitutional provision for periodic review of pension.

In its recommendations, the Committee said anyone indicted for corruption in relation to pension administration should be promptly brought to justice.

The Committee urged the Conference to demand that relevant sections of the Pensions Reform Act which requires that investment of part of the funds from the Contributory Pension Scheme in real estate sector to boost availability of mortgage be adhered to.

It said operations of the National Health Insurance Scheme be overhauled because contributors to the scheme are currently left without coverage as their health requirements and those of members of their families “are just not being met under the Scheme.”

On labour issues and the minimum wage, the Committee recommended that since the minimum wage is fixed at a level just above the poverty line, and it is the duty of the Federal Government to ensure that the pay of every Nigerian is above the poverty line, it was necessary to have it retained in the Exclusive Legislative list.

It was the recommendation of the Committee that a new sub-section be introduced in the 1999 Constitution that would compel government to review public sector pay every five years to take cognizance of trends in the cost of living.

In addition, it said a new study of job content and pay structure of both the public and the private sectors should be swiftly undertaken to ensure that comparable work in the public sector vis-à-vis the private sector attracts comparable pay.

As a premise for harmonization of pay in the paraststals and agencies with what obtains in the civil service, the Committee called for immediate job evaluation in the entire public service.

This, it stated, would not only restore relativity between the pay in the parastatals and agencies vis-avis that of the civil service, but is also capable of reducing the size of the recurrent budget.

After debate, we adjourned at  6:12 pmto conclude adoption and rejection of amendments the following day - Thursday 5th June 2014 at 9am ...

Day 35: My National Conference Exploits (Public Finance and Revenue)

Day 35: My National Conference Exploits...

Tuesday 3rd June 2014...

The conference resumed sitting at 09:03 am; presided over by the chairman.

Votes and proceedings of Monday 2nd June 2014 were read, amended and adopted.

Announcement:

The chair announced that the cornotion of a delegate - Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi is scheduled for Sunday 22nd June 2014 at the township stadium Gummi Zamfara state. He extended invitation to delegate and gave us the duration it will take on air and on land - but I no see flight ticket o.

We continued discussion of the committee on Public finance and revenue where we stopped yesterday.

The contentious issue in that report was the recommendation made by the committee that there is a need for the removal of fuel subsidy completely, some delegates were for and others were against.

A motion was brought to the floor giving some conditions to be made before complete removal of subsidy and the modalities were as thus: 

 - The federal Government shall, within a period of three years from the date of approval of the report of this conference, build new refineries and repair existing ones to full capacity utilization.

- The private sector entrepreneurs  who have already been granted  licenses to build new refineries shall, within a period of three years from the date of approval of the report of this conference, build such new refineries or automatically forfeit such licenses, to enable other participants who are ready and willing to build such refineries within a period of three years the oppurtunity to so so.

- That upon fulfillment of the preceding conditions, the federal government shall be free to remove any existing subsidy from petroleum products.

The committee report - public finance and revenue was then adopted as amended.

The committee on public service, headed by - Engineer Ebele Okeke presented their report.

After the presentation, we adjourned at 6:17 am, to resume the following day 9am....

Day 34: My National Conference Exploits..

Monday 2nd June 2014 

Conference resumed sitting at 9:22 presided over by the Chairman - this was a man who lost his wife on Wednesday and he is back on his fit on Monday. Well, men are men really. A strong man he is - when we went to condole with him in his residence, myself and another youth delegate - seeing me he said - this lady is not part of the conference, until my collegue informed him that I was the deputy chair committee on environment - he said "oh the one that presented their committee report and the chairman of the committee came to do it again and received boos?" - he threw his head back and laughed out loud - very simple man I must say. 

Well, we amended the votes and proceedings of Monday 26th May, Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th May and adopted as amended.

Announcement.

The deputy chair formally announced the death of the wife of the chairman of the conference Hajia Maryamu Idris Kutigi. The deputy chair conveyed the condolence of the conference to the chairman and his family.

The chairman in his response thanked delegates for their overwhelming support to him and the members of his family and told us how both Christians and Muslim trooped to the mosque for the prayer session and the cemetery to pay their last respect to his wife - he particularly thanked the deputy chair and said he will soon convert him to Islam as he was in the mosque and prayed and did all that was done by Muslims - delegates laughed. He appreciated the support of the deputy chair and all conference members.

I remember the chairman telling us while we visited him - see Christian and Muslims are all united, that what they are doing in the conference is just a hoax.

After all said, the chairman again announced the death of the son of a delegate Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja in a car accident - the deputy chair disclosed that the leadership of conference, on behalf of delegates had sent the bereaved delegate a condolence message.

Also the deputy chair announced that the secretariat on behalf of the conference had sent a message of felicitation and sympathy to the Emir of Askira HRH Abdullahi Ibn Muhammad (Askira 3) who escaped assassination by gun men.

The deputy chair introduced a delegate Mallam Ado Yakubu Wanka to replace and elder-statesman - Alhaji Adamu from Bauchi.

The chairman informed delegate that management is in receipt of  a letter which was endorsed to it by inspector general of police on a petition by aides and drivers of delegates. The aides and drivers indicated in the petition, their intention to embark on a protest over their welfare - the deputy chair appealed to the delegates to restrain their aides and drivers from engaging in acts that may disrupt the conference - well some who made personal investigation revealed that the drivers and aides in question are not well paid by their bosses some of them sleep in the cars or in hotel parking lot and are paid stipends. It's baffling though - who do they expect will take care of the welfare of their aides while they are being paid? Some of them have over 15 aides, minus driver that is - well I have no aide neither do I have a driver.

Now back to the main business of the day.

The committee on Public finance and revenue generation presented their report and this is how it went:      

The main recommendation on the report; 

The committee recommended the complete removal of fuel subsidy, stating that subsidy on petroleum products is an avoidable major financial burden the nation has been made to bear.

It said between 2006 and 2007, subsidy accounted for 30% of government expenditure which translated to 118% of capital budget and 4.18% of the Gross Domestic Product.

It was also revealed that subsidy payment of N2.527 trillion in 2012 and 2013 averaged N1.263 trillion per annum and described it as “a burden too heavy for the nation and its populace.” They further stated that resources which should have been used to undertake more developmental projects were being spent on subsidy.

They also stated that the poor and the rural dwellers to whom the subsidy scheme was initially targeted were not reaping the benefits; and that removal of subsidy would encourage investments in refineries and the downstream sector generally.

So many argued against the complete removal of subsidy; since constant power supply in the country was still a mirage; government should first fix all the sick refineries for local production of petroleum products before removing the subsidy. Those against the complete removal also stated that criminal activities would increase nationwide if the removal was carried out since majority of artisans who rely on small power generating sets to do their business would be out of work.

Those in support of the complete removal of subsidy argued that it causes wastage and high level corruption among both the fuel importers and certain government officials. They also argued that continuous subsidization of fuel would amount to deliberate effort to enrich a few Nigerians at the expense of others; and what is advisable would be to ensure judicious use of funds accruing from the subsidy removal.

Other recommendations made by the committee include; enhancing accountability, transparency and avoid mistrust between the three tiers of government, they said it has become absolutely necessary to have Accountant Generals of the Federation and that of the Federal Government - the Accountant General of the Federation would manage the accounts of the federation while Accountant General of the Federal Government would handle the finances of the Federal Government.

The committee also noted that in the 1970s, budgetary allocations, up to 70%, were always in favor of capital expenditure; a situation it said enhanced economic development; but that the situation has since changed further stating that In the last 10 years, it said approximately 73% of the annual budgets have been devoted to recurrent expenditure leaving a mere 27% for capital.

“The present budget mix is unacceptable as no economy can grow with such a paltry allocation for capital and still be expected to provide vital infrastructure and social amenities for the populace.

They also objected the current procedure - where budgets are submitted to the National Assembly and thereafter, the crude oil benchmark is subjected to upward reviews, thereby increasing the size of the budget.

The Committee therefore recommended that the country maintains a budget mix of at least 60% capital expenditure and 40% recurrent expenditure to leave substantial fund to address infrastructural gap, provide jobs and promote general economic growth and development. Urging that the time frame for the presentation of the annual budget to the National Assembly should be on or before September 30th preceding the budget year; while the passage and presidential assent must be completed on or before December 31 and also Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 which deals on budget issues be enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and all the controls and sanctions therein adhered to.

The Committee provided a comprehensive list of essential solid minerals found in states of the federation explaining that these can be a veritable source for diversification of the country’s non-oil revenue base and that when fully tapped, the revenue profile would change from oil dominance – some who did not see the name of their state in the list rose to make a case.

 

The committee also recommended that a minimum of 50% of all funds in excess crude account be transferred to the SWF while the balance should be used to augment where necessary, certain shortfalls in the FAAC in the short term and the SWF be enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

On oil and gas pipeline leakages and theft, the Committee urged that commensurate security be deployed to these areas to deter, detect, apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of the crime. Besides deployment of security personnel, Committee members said there was need for acquisition and deployment of appropriate technology to check fuel and pipeline vandalism. It demanded government to provide opportunities for young people to be involved in the oil and gas activities as this would engender gainful employment for youths, while calling for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, it emphasized the need for intelligence gathering and processing in tracking movement of ocean bound vessels coming in and going out of Nigeria – Security ke? when some of them have the backing of the……….. erm never mind.

The Committee suggested that government should consider involvement of private companies in the management and replacement of oil pipelines, some of which it said are over 50 years old.

The committee noted that, as things stand now, Nigeria’s external debt ratio is below the international benchmark of 40%; and that this has created room for further external borrowings, It said back home, instead of the stated position helping in the growth of the economy, domestic debt profile, especially debt owed local contractors, unpaid salaries of public servants, pensions and gratuities have contributed to hamper the growth.

It recommended that while there is room for borrowing, such external borrowing must be tied to designated projects which must be efficiently and prudently implemented to reduce pressure on lendable funds – rich in dept, giant of Africa.

 

At some minutes past 6pm we adjourned to resume the following day and continue deliberations on the committee of public finance and revenu

Day 33: My National Conference Exploits...

Wednesday 28th May 2014:

The conference resumed sitting at 9:00am, presided over by the deputy Chair. 

The deputy chair announced the death of the wife of the Chairman - National Conference - Hajiya Maryamu Idris Kutigi which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 28th May 2014. Burial he said will take place from 11am of same day.

Based on the above the conference unanimously resolved to adjourn it's sitting in honor of the departed.

The conference adjourned at 9:07 to resume on Monday 2nd July 2014 - no sitting on Thursdays.... 

Day 32: My National Conference Exploits

Tuesday 27th May 2014, proceeding started at exactly 9.03 am.

Amendments were made on the votes and proceedings of the previous day and adopted as amended.

Announcement:

The deputy Chair announced that we lost one of our own again and the house went like "oh no! not again".  That was actually a misinformation - a delegate - Alhaji Tanko Yakassai lost his son - Ibrahim. The deputy chair corrected and on behalf of the chairman and the conference, condoled with the delegate.

Continuation of Discussion of Committee Reports:

The committee on religion presented their report, well delivered by their co-chair Nuruddeen Lemu, standing beside him while presenting was Bishop Felix Ajakaiye also co- chair of the committee..

What actually stroke me was during their presentation, Nuruddeeen parted Bishop Felix and called him his bother from another father - now this is the spirit! and after he finished presenting his report - he hugged Bishop Felix and the hall rose to applaud them, not just for a a sound delivery but also showing a sign of unity and peaceful co-existence of both faith. 

The report was sound, thorough and critical and knotty issues were simplified. Brilliant recommendations and submissions made therein.

Conference Deputy Chairman thanked the committee for a job well-done and thanked them also for handling the assignment with diligence and compassion and said "the constitution of the Committee on Religion was the most difficult assignment in terms of membership during the inauguration of all the committees this was due to the sensitive nature of the assignment and the fact that “people can change their political views, but they may not change their religious views.”

A key recommendation made by the committee on religion is that "henceforth, no government, at any level, should use public funds in sponsorship of any religious programme, especially pilgrimages for any category of citizens, including government functionaries".

It was agreed that "apex religious bodies in the country be allowed to handle all matters relating to pilgrimage through the Pilgrims Commissions duly managed by them under a law to be passed by the National Assembly to regulate their functions and protect pilgrims".

However holy you are, you must get critics you know? some delegates said members of the committee had avoided tackling some critical issues and answering questions Nigerians would expect them to answer.

Another delegate criticized the committee for its silence on the fate of mission schools which had in the past served as moral training grounds for young people who grew up with such morals for the betterment of the society.

Another said "the committee has shy away from the crucial issue of whether Nigeria is a secular or religious state; explaining that this became necessary because Section 10 of the constitution has been given different interpretations by different people with regard to the secularity of Nigeria. He suggested that Section 10 be amended to make it quite explicit that Nigeria is a secular state so that the misinterpretation can be put to rest.

Another delegate faulted them for not mentioning where worship centers should be sited; he said building of worship centers requires regulation to avoid noise pollution because “a man in search of salvation should do it quietly between him and God.”

One of the committees report was; "Central to the issue of religious harmony in Nigeria was the elimination of religious discriminations and prejudices and went ahead to recommend that Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution should be reaffirmed and upheld in practice".

Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution which deals with prohibition of state religion states that, “The Government of the Federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion.”

However, the most contentious issue in that report was a recommendation by the committee for the establishment of a Religious Equity Commission (RECOM) with the statutory mandate of advocacy, enforcement of constitutional religious rights such as freedom of religion, freedom to acquire land for religious purposes, among others.

The committee had envisaged the RECOM to serve as a platform that would bring individuals of the major religions in Nigeria to interact and crystalise ideas that would foster unity and tolerance; as well as monitor and investigate and expose cases of religious discrimination and violation.

The body was also meant to monitor cases of religious extremism - both in ideology and practice - and formulate counter narratives that are balanced and tolerant to neutralise such extremism.

It would have equally served as a watch dog and enforcer of religious rights of all persons, thereby creating confidence and trust in every Nigerian no matter their religious affiliations while also monitoring and investigating cases of hate speeches and utterances meant to incite religious tension and prosecute persons responsible.

Delegates said it is unnecessary and suggested that the National Human Rights Commission should be empowered to handle such issues instead of setting up another commission at a time the issue of devolution of power was being seriously contemplated while another group was against it.

The committee noted that the restoration of ethics, culture, morals and core values that promote a sense of belonging among individuals and constituent groups within a nation-state was essential to the process of nation building.

The committee noted that “Despite that its peoples are intensely religious, Nigeria is losing the moral compass for nation-building. Many factors contribute to this. There is however evidence from anthropological data that most Nigerian cultures showed greater appreciation of the core values of honesty, justice, ethics, and morality.

“The committee is of the view that Nigerians should return to those shared core values of their forebears and our faith traditions which are anchored on the sacred values of honesty, justice and the love of one another in order to build a truly united nation-state.”

The Conference, in its deliberation came to a conclusion that the National Orientation Agency to put in place a strong advocacy in collaboration with religious institutions to promote core values in the Nigerian society.

The committee - religion also recommended that; children must be taught their mother tongue or language of their immediate community during the first three years of basic education.In a bid to reinvent the African culture of courtesy, politeness, honesty, integrity, communal interdependence and peaceful co-existence which it said were rapidly being eroded in the Nigerian society. 

They also suggested that learning of Nigerian history should be included in primary and secondary school curricula; while social studies curriculum should be reviewed to reflect Nigeria’s cultural values of respect for elders, hospitality, and communal interdependence, modesty in morals and in dressing.

Some of the recommendation made on the floor of the conference include; henceforth, hate speeches and sermons meant to create incitement among Nigerians should be criminalise; and those involved prosecuted.

Other recommendation adopted include; Collection of taxes as a way of contributing to the growth of the economy by profit-making businesses carried out by religious bodies like churches and mosques. 

A suggestion made also include; henceforth, nobody wishing to convert to any religion of his or her choice should be subjected to any form of victimization whatsoever.

The committee recommended that - payment of welfare allowances be made by government to men and women particularly the most vulnerable members of the society.

It was also agreed that government should, as a matter of national emergency initiate policies that would accelerate wealth creation for the teeming populace, particularly through creation of jobs.

The issue that almost caused a fight towards the end of the day - a delegate suggested that the pilgrim welfare board be abolished  in its totality, this didn't go down well with many people who felt that the welfare board are not actually paid by the government and abolishing it will lead to people lacking support and guide when they visit Mecca or Jerusalem.

Well that and the Religion equity commission recommendation  were bracketed till further debate hence the committee on Religion report was not adopted yet.

Sitting was adjourned till the following day.

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