Mixed reactions trail release of National Conference guidelines

The release of the modalities for the National Conference by the Federal Government has elicited mixed reactions from lawmakers and party chieftains.

While some see the modalities for the Confab as timely others said that it was ill-timed.

The Federal Government had in a statement on 30 Jan. released the modalities for the National Conference to be held in the FCT.

The lawmakers made the remarks in separate telephone interviews in Abuja.

Rep. Savour Udoh (PDP-Akwa- Ibom) hailed the modalities for the conference and agreed with statement of the Federal Government that the unity of Nigeria was not negotiable.

He proposed that whatever decision taken at the National Conference should be forwarded to the National Assembly for ratification and also included in the Constitution.

Rep. Ife-Oluwa Arowosoge(APC-Ekiti), said that the timing of the National Confab was not right.

He said that National Confab was a big conference that requires years of planning and not something to be rushed.

The lawmaker expressed concern that 2014 being the year of elections and the general elections slated for January 2015 might not be conducive for a National Conference.

He said said that the appropriate time would have been after the general elections.

” I don’t think that my reaction would be different from that of my party the APC, I don’t think that the timing is right, it is very wrong, it is ill-timed, ” he said.

Also reacting,  Mr Osita Okechukwu, National Publicity Secretary of  the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties(CNPP),faulted the non- inclusion of some political parties in the conference.

“The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP ) wishes to report the unfair and gross under representation of the registered political parties in Nigeria.

“It is very unfair, that only five out of the 25 registered political parties were allocated 10 delegates; “We feel that we were denied representation, we felt short changed , we feel we were not given fair representation.

“We appeal that this obnoxious anomaly be corrected before the national conference commences,’” he said.