The Presidency on Thursday reacted to the claim by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) that President Goodluck Jonathan turned down a minority report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the proposed national conference.
The committee, chaired by Femi Okunrounmu, recently submitted its report to the President.
But NBA President, Okey Wali, speaking on Wednesday during the inauguration of the association’s committee on the national conference in Abuja, claimed the President refused to receive the minority report prepared by of his member, Solomon Asemota.
Wali had said, “This may very well be a convenient point to express our disappointment that in receiving the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the National Conference, the minority report was not received by the President.
“This is undemocratic, and we hope that this does not represent signs of things to come. The NBA therefore advises that the President calls for and receives the minority report, prepared by Mr. Solomon Asemota, SAN”.
Reacting in a statement, Presidential Media Adviser, Reuben Abati, said President Jonathan was not aware of the existence of any minority report, saying Wali’s claim is incorrect.
The statement reads in full, “The allegation reportedly made by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Okey Wali yesterday in Abuja that President Goodluck Jonathan refused to receive a minority report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the proposed national conference is untrue and incorrect.
“In fact, President Jonathan is unaware of the existence of a minority report supposedly prepared by a member of the Committee, Chief Solomon Asemota.
“It is also a verifiable fact that Chief Asemota himself was present at the submission of the committee’s report to the President on December 18, 2013 when the Chairman, Senator Femi Okurounmu spoke as follows in his address to President Jonathan:
“Before concluding my address, Mr. President, I want to make one or two comments about some newspaper reports to the effect that there is a minority report of our Committee. We have so far refrained from commenting on these reports because we consider it politically indiscreet and a grave violation of protocol for anyone to be commenting on a report that is yet to be formally submitted. Now that our report is before you, Mr. President, I say quite emphatically, that we have no minority report.”
“As everyone, including representatives of the media who were present at the occasion will attest, Chief Asemota raised no objection to the foregoing comments by Senator Okurounmu and made no effort whatsoever to present any dissenting minority report to the President.
“There was therefore never any issue of President Jonathan refusing to receive such a minority report from Chief Asemota and the Presidency is completely unaware of any factual basis for the claim by the NBA President to that effect.
“Mr. Wali’s castigation of President Jonathan’s purported rejection of a minority report is consequently unfair, based as it is, on a wrong premise. President Jonathan did not at any time interfere in the deliberations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the National Conference and he had no reason to reject a minority report, if it exists and was ever offered to him.
“The Presidency would like to reassure the NBA that this administration is guided in all instances by democratic principles; the idea of a National Conference being in itself a loud evidence in this regard. We invite the Nigeria Bar Association and other professional bodies to support the administration’s efforts to strengthen our democratic process. Criticisms of such efforts can only be useful when they are constructive and based on facts”.
