National Conference Is Doomed To Failure – Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi

The National Conference has not yet started, but some already predict it will fail due to loopholes in the preparation process.





















The Vice chairman of Senate Committee on Interior, Olubunmi Adetunmbi, shared his critique with journalists in Abuja.
Adetunmbi, who represents Ekiti North senatorial district, criticized the process of the selection of delegates and the lack of legal framework for the conference. He also said that the decision process at the Conference in unlikely to be transparent and democratic, which calls the success of the confab into question. The modalities of the National Conference were presented by the Federal Government onThursday.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Tosin Omoniyi, Adetunmbi said the overbearing influence of the executive and the sidelining of the National Assembly in the decisions leading to the National Conference defeated any possible benefits of the event.

"The idea is a laudable one in itself. I agree that we as a nation need to dialogue on certain issues that concern us as an entity but the process leading to the convening of the conference is faulty and except the right things are done the possibility of success is minimal."

Adetunmbi said one of the problems is timing as the confab is in conflict with the upcoming elections in ekiti and Osun states and the general elections in 2015.
He stated that the Conference is scheduled for a time "when the federal government has credibility and poor performance challenges."
According to Adetunmbi, the Conference lacks internal democracy because its the initiator of the event is an "interested party that has huge stake in the decisions expected to be reached."

"Don’t forget that the conference was called by the executive fiat of the originator who is the selector of the moderator, the deputy and the scribe of the conference among other delegates that he appoints to the conference. Going by the delegate selection process and the structure it is obvious that the conference would not be free from manipulations from the convener," he said.

The exact dates of the National Conference are not yet known, but it is fixed to last for three months before the 2015 general election. 492 delegates will participate in the dialogue.