National Conference (CONFAB): Delegates Clash over Power Devolution

 L-R: Members, Committee on Devolution of Power, Alhaji Magaji Dambatta; 

Senator Anthony Adefuye, and Bashir Dalhatu

Deliberations at the National Conference Committee on Devolution of Powers were abruptly stalled for some moments on Tuesday as tempers rose among some delegates following disagreement on power devolution.

The committee has the mandate to examine the Legislative List in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution to ascertain items that should be altered in reducing the over concentration of powers at the centre.

The committee had concluded deliberations on the Legislative List during which it retained Police Affairs contrary to the clamour that it should be moved to the Concurrent List to enable the states to establish their own police services.

But there was crisis on Tuesday when the committee screened and retained all the 30 items on the Concurrent List.

They were concluding the process when Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), a delegate from Oyo

State, raised a point of order and expressed dissatisfaction with the trend of deliberations.

He said it was absurd that a committee which was meant to facilitate the devolution of powers had succeeded in making little or no changes adding that the decisions of the committee had made nonsense of the whole idea of power devolution.

He threatened to mobilise his fellow delegates from the South-West to stage a walkout of the meeting and to refrain from endorsing the resolutions of the committee.

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