The National
Conference Committee on Politics and Governance has recommended for the removal
of Section 305 on immunity clause from the 1999 Constitution.
The Chairman of
the Committee and a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, told
journalists on Tuesday that the committee was concerned about the abuse
of office by public office holders and the corruption that goes with it.
He said the
committee was of the opinion that a message should be sent to Nigerians and
office holders that no one was above the law.
Gana said, “Our
recommendation is still subject to the approval of the plenary. We took
decision on the immunity clause and it was a clear consensus in the interest of
zero tolerance for corruption, to promote good governance, to promote
transparency and discipline.
“The fact that
we don’t want people going around that the leaders are above the law, we
decided that the immunity clause should be removed from our constitution.
“This is not yet
the decision of the conference though, but this is what we are presenting to
the plenary.
“I must say that
the entire members of the committee went along with the decision, we had no
reason to divide the committee because it was a consensus.”
Also, the
Committee on Power Devolution in the National Conference on Tuesday failed to
reach any agreement on whether item 39, which is the mines, mineral resources,
revenue and geological surveys should be on the Exclusive List or on the
Concurrent List.
Also, the
delegates failed to reach an agreement or consensus on revenue sharing and
resource control.
These issues had
preoccupied their deliberations since Monday.
Journalists were
sent out after the lunch break to enable the members to discuss without any
interference, but after four hours of intensive deliberations and lobbying, the
delegates failed to reach an agreement.