Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony
Sani, has explained why the report of the 2014 national conference organized by
the then President Goodluck Jonathan, cannot be implemented by the Buhari’s
administration.
He said, nobody could compel the sitting government to
implement reforms outside its mandate; adding that the report of the conference
might not be part of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC)’s manifesto.
Sani told SUN newspaper that Northerners neither disowned
the conference nor its report, but are opposed to the implementations as
canvassed.
He said: “We believe it is undemocratic for an elected
government to implement far reaching Reforms of the polity based on
recommendations by a conference of unelected delegates, more so that the APC
government did not participate in the confab.
“Why should the sitting government be compelled to introduce
far reaching Reforms outside its mandate as contained in its manifesto? This is
because the reports of the conference may not be part of the party’s manifesto.
“Northern delegates attended the conference because some
sections of the country compelled the sitting government to convoke it, since
it is better to jaw-jaw than to fight.
“The conference provided a platform where some important
people across the nation came together and discussed some real issues of real
concern to real ordinary Nigerians. These issues have been brought into the
open and cannot easily be forgotten or ignored.
“What remains is for political parties to study the reports,
pick those recommendations agreeable to them and include in their manifesto and
use the manifesto to canvass for electoral mandate needed for implementation.
“That is how democracy works. It is therefore morally preposterous
to expect an elected government to undertake far reaching Reforms of the polity
based on recommendations by a conference of unelected delegates.
“Northern delegates are not so much concerned about the
legality of the conference as to its legitimacy.”
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