Former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday gave reasons why his administration could not implement the report of the 2014 confab. Jonathan cited the crisis within the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as one of the reasons.
The former president made this known when he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late leader of pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo in Lagos, in company of former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, among others.
Jonathan said convening the Confab was made possible because of people of integrity like the Late Chief Adebanjo based on insinuations about perceived interest, pointing out that he would have loved to implement the recommendations before leaving office in 2015, but for the crisis orchestrated by some people within his party.
He explained that the composition of the 2014 Conference was credible, saying that he gave it total authority to discuss what is good for this country. Jonathan noted that when a nation was not moving as expected there was a need for a comprehensive dialogue.
He said: “I didn’t know that the issue of National Conference would even come on board, without people like him and other leaders there, it wouldn’t have taken place because they thought initially I wanted to manipulate the system.
“I remember in the beginning when there were issues, some came to me, they said president, we want to know if there were some areas you were interested in. “I say look, I can’t even advise you, you are more experienced than me.
You are the leaders, Supreme Court justices, more than 50 per cent of members were more experienced than me, it was a benevolent privilege that made me do that, setting up the Confab.”
Jonathan, however, recalled that people today still make reference to that conference, while they urged for the need to revisit it whenever there was any issue at hand.
He described the deaths of the Afenifere leader, Chief Adebanjo, and the PANDEF leader, Chief Edwin Clark, almost at the same time as a great loss to Nigeria, describing them as men of courage and wisdom, who meant well for the country.
He said for the two of them to have died simultaneously was a great shock, having worked together for the interest of Nigeria.
