Former President Goodluck Jonathan has explained that he could not implement the much-applauded recommendations of the 2014 National Conference because it came close to the general elections.
Many people have commended the recommendations, saying implementation of its recommendations would have resolved some of the nagging issues in the country.
Jonathan told an audience in Abuja Tuesday he could not implement them before leaving office because of time constraints and the disagreements in the National Assembly that eroded the support base of his party.
Jonathan who was represented by Senator Pius Ayim, spoke at the presentation of the book, The National Conversation: Interests and Intrigues That Shaped The 2014 National Conference, at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja. The book was written by two journalists, Akpandem James and Sam Akpe.
He said the recommendations were expected to be submitted for ratification by the National Assembly. The decision of House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and some principal officers of the lower House to decamp to the opposition All Progressives Congress also stalled the move.
Tambuwal had joined the APC which was at the time criticizing the Confab as a political campaign tool. Many people reasoned at the time that it would be difficult for the ruling Peoples Democracy Party to get a concurrence in both chambers of the National Assembly.
Tambuwal’s departure caused so much uproar in the Peoples Democratic Party and tilted political calculations against the ruling party at the time. To make matters worse, he had adjourned the House thereafter, a decision which left Jonathan helpless.
There were other issues against the implementation of the Conference recommendations.
According to the former President, if the report had gone through the National Assembly, it would have resulted into changes in the Nigerian constitution.
The ECOWAS protocol prohibits leaders of member countries from any constitutional changes close to any general elections.
The confab report was submitted in August 2014, six months before the February 2015 election
