President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the extension of the national conference by four weeks. It will now wind up on July 17.
This confirmed the story published in TheNiche on May 11.
Delegates who reacted to the extension included Ezekiel Izuogu, Joe Nworgu, Buba Galadima, Abdulsalam Abubakar, Chinedum Nwajiuba, Ibuchukwu Eze, and Sani Zoro.
Izuogu said the extension is inevitable but demanded more commitment from his colleagues.
“Extension appears necessary and so welcome. I hope conference members will get more serious about issues,” he said.
Nworgu noted that thought it did not get what it initially demanded but at least got something reasonable.
His words: “He who wears the shoe, knows where it pinches him. The leadership of the conference secretariat asked for six weeks extension but they got four weeks.
“They are the ones managing the affairs of the conference so they know the volume of work needed to be done. So I think it is proper that the extension was granted.”
Galadima wondered if “the four weeks will be enough to complete the work of the conference” but Abubakar welcome it.
“You remember that we recorded a lot of public holidays which took much of the time we needed for this national assignment. So I believe it is proper that this lost ground be made up for.
“It was expected because the time left was not enough to enable delegates do a thorough job. So it is a welcome development,” Abubakar said.
To Nwajiuba, the extension was expected and probably planned from the beginning.
Eze also welcomed the extension, saying a lot of public holidays ate deep into the time of the conference, the conference does not convene on Fridays, and there is a lot to be done on the reports of committees.
“I must however point out the fact that initially, most of us were opposed to extension because we considered it a waste of public resources but the reality on ground allows for the extension,” he stated.
Zoro added: “By July 17, the confab will be exactly four months. It will be a great thing to deliver on our mandate within a shorter time line than all former confabs, some of which ran for about one and a half years.
“I only hope the confab leadership will manage the time available efficiently to enable us meet the deadline.”
The conference was originally scheduled to last three months, but its 20 committees sought an extension of six months, which Aso Rock reduced to four weeks, ending July 17.
