After several days of horse-trading by the national conference delegates on the percentage of voting to arrive at resolutions on critical issues, the conference yesterday adopted 70 percent as part of the rules of procedure thereby bringing to an end looming stalemate engendered by the debate.
The matter was resolved by the 50 wise men that deliberated on the matter after several adjournments last week before this committee of elders were able to solve the riddle.
The vice chairman of the conference, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, who announced the figure to the delegates, stated that it was a matter of compromise and sacrifice by the 50 elders to arrive and the number which marked the end of the debate on the issue.
The announcement attracted applause among the delegates who subsequently adopted the figure through voice votes without further debate on the matter.
Most of the delegates who spoke on the resolution of the matter expressed happiness that the conference was able to exhibit the maturity expected of it by the members of the public in resolving the issue which nearly brought the conference to its knees following several adjournments on the matter.
Commenting on the issue, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, a delegate in the list of federal government delegates who earlier moved the motion for 2/3 as the international best practice stated that the decision of the elders was in the best interest of the nation so that the conference could move forward.
Ozekhome said he was happy that the conference is laying a good foundation so that it would take off on a solid ground.
He stated that this would be the beginning of compromises at the conference noting that Nigerianness would take precedence over parochial and primordial sentiments describing the move as a win-win situation.
Chief Sergeant Awuse commended the chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi for taking the step to move the conference forward saying that it has also debunked public cynicism that the conference was heading for a stalemate.
Chief Awuse who described it as a proactive action of the chairman said it prevented critics from going with the story that the president had set up an ill-conceived conference, noting that the notion that the conference was wasting time had been debunked.
