Final Battle At Confab As Crisis Hits Northern Camp

After one week of game of wit, Northern and Southern delegates are set to stage a final battle over derivation and rehabilitation funds.

The contentious derivation issue, which al­most brought the Conference to its knees last week is set to further divide the house. Daily Sun gathered that delegates from core North­ern states are not ready to shift their position, while their Southern counterparts are plotting to crash the creation of an intervention fund to rebuiild war-ravaged North-east.

Already, crisis has hit the Northern camp, following the refusal of North-east delegates to accommodate their counterparts from North-west and North-central geopolitical zones in the creation of the intervention fund.

A delegate from North-west, who spoke to Daily Sun on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the cracks. The delegate added that key North-west leaders might withdraw their support for North-east.

“There is a problem right now, as I speak. The Northern camp is in crisis. We have been supporting the creation of an interven­tion fund. Our initial agreement was that the fund was going to be used to rebuild the entire North.

“From recent developments, it is obvious that delegates from the North-east are plot­ting a different agenda. That means we are being used to achieve their personal agenda. We cannot allow that to happen. If we are not going to benefit, we should as well pull out.

“Boko Haram has attacked states in the North-west and North-central. Are they say­ing these two regions will not benefit from the fund? At this point, I think the best thing to do is to pull out of the arrangement and see how North-east delegates can compel their Southern counterparts to support them,” the delegate revealed.

Series of attempts by the Conference Sec­retariat to break the logjam have equally hit a cul de sac. The meeting of 50 ‘wise men’ convened by the chairman of the Confer­ence, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi last Friday, was boycotted by over half of those expected at the meeting.

As a result, the meeting did not hold. Delegates are, therefore, going to find a way to break the deadlock, which is likely to rear its ugly head when they reconvene today.

In the meantime, outhern delegates are set to challenge the recommendation of the consensus group, which came up with the creation of an intervention fund.

The delegates want the scope of the intervention fund to cover the six geopoliti­cal zones of the country. They want all parts of the country to benefit from the fund in the event of any natural disaster or crisis.

If these permutations p lay out, the Confer­ence might again be forced to its knees. With just four working days left to conclude discussions on the last report of the Confer­ence, it is unlikely that anything meaningful will happen.

The backing of some delegates by their regional leaders and state governors might further sabotage moves by the Conference leadership to salvage the situation, which has pitted both regions against each other.

The leadership of the Conference has been under attacks. Core Northern delegates have accused the chairman, Justice Kutigi, and his deputy, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, of acting on a script intended to short-change the region.

A delegate from Borno State, Dr. Haruna Yerima, told Daily Sun that the leadership of the National Conference, particularly the chairman, and and his deputy, are working against the interest of the North.

The delegate, who is a lecturer at the Ahmedu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, cited many instances where the actions the Conference leaders had clearly indicated that they were strongly against the interest of the North.

He singled out Professor Akinyemi whom he accused of playing an agenda of other sections of the country against his region.

Dr. Yerima referred to the vote on the Conference’s committee report on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government, which Professor Akinyemi presided over.

He argued that the vice chairman delib­erately did not recognise key Northern del­egates, who had indicated interest to speak on the recommendations of the report. He said such moves were geared towards stifling the interest of the region.

“Two weeks ago, this local govern­ment issue, I had to shout but they refused to recognise me. They shut out Professor Auwalu Yadudu, Dr. Junaid Mohammed and Buba Galadima. So, it was a grand design to stifle those that are really vocal from the North. They did not allow us to speak, even to make simple observation. Things they were allowing other delegates to do, we were prevented from doing.

“I am sorry to say this, the vice chairman, particularly, is definitely against the North. He is carrying out an agenda. His actions are really, really questionable,” he submitted.

His position has been re echoed b y another Northern delegate from Kano State, Dr. Ju­naid Mohammed, who has been crying foul over plans by the Conference leadership to shut down the opinions of Northerners.