[JONATHAN’S 75% VOTING RULE SPLITS CONFAB] ------------------------- ABUJA — The first major deadlock set in at the National Conference, yesterday, when delegates were split over the clause stipulating that all decisions to be reached must be done through consensus or a vote of 75 per cent majority. Tension began to rise when the chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi, attempted to overrule a delegate, Chief Mike Ozekhome, who had called for the amendment of the provision to make it possible for any decision to be arrived at through two thirds majority, which he said was the same position with the constitution and global best practices. Ozekhome had argued that it would be against the interest of natural justice and the nation for major decisions to be decided by only a few persons at the confab, since the meaning of 75 per cent was such that even if the delegates had up to 74.99 per cent, they could not change anything while a minority of 25 per cent of the members could easily win over anything they decide on under the rule of consensus. The activist lawyer pointed out that if the rule was allowed to stand, it would be impossible for delegates representing local interests to influence the outcome of any issue at the end of the confab, thereby defeating the purpose for which they were nominated by their sponsors. The Edo‑born lawyer argued: “My Lord, I want to point out for your attention and that of the delegates that a lot of very controversial and emotive issues will come up at the conference since many of the delegates here represent local and community interests. “Under the provision for 75 per cent for any dissenting voice to get anything done here, it would be very difficult for anything to be achieved. We should, therefore, go back to the normal practice of two-thirds majority when it comes to voting on any matter. “What this means is that for any decision to be taken no fewer than 369 of the 492 delegates must concur before such can be done. This is behemoth and extremely difficult given our situation in this country.” We can’t change voting rule —Kutigi Ozekhome had hardly landed when Kutigi reminded him that the issue of consensus or 75 per cent voting by the dissenting party had already been decided by Presidency and that the matter had been closed. He said: “We cannot change the rule of voting which had already been decided by the President, who set the tone for this conference; the issue has been closed.” - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/03/jonathans-75-voting-rule-splits-confab/#sthash.GJ6lyj9A.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 08:44:52 +0000
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