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USA Africa Dialogue Series - Mid-week Essay: Down Memory Lane - and Why I Intend to Return N5,430,000 to State Coffers - by Bolaji Aluko

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Mid-week Essay:  Down Memory Lane - and Why I Intend to Return N5,430,000 to State Coffers

by


Mobolaji Aluko, PhD

March 27, 2014

_________________________________________________________________


My People:

Conference is going on fine, as all of us are seeing on TV....

Moving on....

As a virtual delegate to the ongoing Conference, I have been going up and down the hallways and by-ways, greeting co-delegates (mostly virtual like myself).  I have noticed that at least twelve of the real delegates are returnees (see table below) - I am a returnee virtual delegate myself - by which I mean they were members of the 2005 National Political Reform Conference under President Obasanjo and are now also members of the Nigeria National Conference under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.    

Interesting thing is that they are all watching what they say, because they remember what happened to returnee Dr. Okurounmu in 2005:


QUOTE


NPRC Day 12: Wednesday, March 16, 2005


Meanwhile, Femi Okunrounmu narrowly escaped sanction from the conference for writing in this weekly column in the Nigerian Tribune that he heard rumours that some Governors wanted to influence the outcome of the conference. When the matter was raised, the chairman, Justice Tobi was mandated to talk to the Afenifere representative. And as the conference was rounding off, he informed the delegates that the writer was very apologetic. He then called on Okunrounmu to speak for himself. The Ogun State-born politician then said he has great respect for the members “who are men and women of proven integrity”. He said if what he wrote hurt any member, “I am very sorry about it”.


UNQUOTE


Interesting......


But that and other memory-lane tid-bits are not really the main subject of my essay, as much as to quickly confess to you that I am about to intend to return N5.43 million  to state coffers from the N12 million given to me for agreeing to be a virtual delegate, and I need your approval to do so.  You see, I did a quick conservative calculation, and saw that N6.57 million was a fair estimate for my 90-day monetized labor and stay in Abuja, and I do not wish to be over-paid.


For those of you Diaspora virtual delegates, provided you come to Nigeria, you would only have to return N3.73 million.


Some other circumstances where Diaspora delegates may actually ask for N970,000 more on top of N12 million is spelt out in the table below - but I don't think anybody would dare do that at this point in time.


In any case, your advice is needed - and there you have it.




Bolaji Aluko

Virtual delegate




 

TABLE 1: Table of Allowances Calculation - and Other Matters

 

SN

Item

Old Conference

New Conference

Remark

1

Sitting President

President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ)

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ)

 

2

Name of Conference

National Political Reform Conference NPRC

Nigeria National Conference  NNC

 

3

Conference Planning Committee Membership

Committee on Political Reforms Agenda:  Governor Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State (Chair),  Governor Segun Agagu of Ondo State, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Aliu Yahaya, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Prof Okwudiba Nnoli and Prof. Joy Ogwu

Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue  PACND: Senator Dr. Femi Okurounmu-(Chairman); Dr. Akilu Sani Indabawa (Secretary), Senator Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe, Senator Timothy Adudu; Professor Olufunke Adeboye; Professor George A. Obiozor, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, NNOM (declined, later replaced by Prof. Anya Anya),  Dr. Abubakar Siddique Mohammed; Malam Bukhari Bello, MFR, mni; Mr. Tony I. Uranta,  Col. Tony Nyiam (Rtd) (later replaced by Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN)); Alhaji Dauda Birmah, OFR and Dr. Mrs. Mairo Ahmed Amshi, MFR

 

4

Conference Leadership

Justice Nike Tobi (Chair)  Rev. Father Mathew Kukah ( secretary) , Alhaji Sule Katagun (Deputy Chairman). Mr. Akinlose Sylvester Arikawe (Deputy Secretary)

Justice Idriss Legbo Kutigi (Chairman); Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi (Deputy Chairman); Dr. (Mrs.) Valerie Azinge (Secretary); Dr. Akilu Indabawa      (Asst. Secretary, Conf. Proceedings); Prof. Mahmood Yakubu (Asst. Secretary, Finance & Administration; Mr. James Akpandem (Asst. Secretary, Media and Communications)

 

5

Conference Period

Three months (February 21, 2005-May 2005)

Three months (March  17 -June? 2014)

 

6

Number of Delegates

400

492

 

7

Outcome

Aborted due to Third-Term Controversy

Ongoing - outcome to be known in the fullness of time

 

8

Common Delegates

Prof Jerry Gana,  Mr. Ayo Arikawe, Dr. Silas Eneyo, Chief Francis Amaebi Doukpolagha, King Alfred Diete Spiff,  Prof. Josiah C. Ogbonnaya,

Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clarke, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Senator Jack Tilley Gyado, General A. B. Mamman,  Ambassador Hassan Adamu,  Prof. Kimse Okoko

There may be a few others though that have "escaped" our attention, but these are the people to watch who knew what happened in the aborted Conference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allowances for each Delegate for 90 days in 2005 (Actual)

Allowances for each Delegate for 90 days in 2014 (My Proposal)

Remarks

9

Sitting Allowance

N542,000

N1,500,000

@N500,000/month for a Professor salary of N6 million per year

10

Accommodation Allowance

N1,626,000

N4,500,000

@N50,000/day. This total would be N9 million at N100,000/day

11

International transport Allowance

0

0

1,700,000 for each Diaspora member

(as allowed in 2005 Conference)

12

Flights to and from Abuja

N28,800

N100,000

@N50,000 to then  fro

13

Airport taxi transport allowance

N14,400

N20,000

 

14

Local Daily Transport Allowance

0

N450,000

@N5,000 per day

15

Total per delegate

N2,211,200

N6,570,000 or

N8,270,000 for Diaspora

N11,270,000 (for N100,000/ay accomodation allowance)

Or N12,970,000 for Diaspora

16

Total Budget of Conference

N931,721,615.28

N7,000,000,000?

 

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