ABUJA – The National Conference on Thursday approved the recommendation to prohibit unofficial use of government assets such as cars, guest houses, halls among others.
The recommendation was made while adopting the report of the Committee on Politics and Governance in Abuja.
According to the conference, the measure will discourage the use of government assets for unofficial duties and ensure strict obedience to the rule of law among political office holders and public servants.
The conference also recommended that government at all levels should not fund political parties, emphasising that the constitutions of parties must provide democratic means of electing leaders.
Addressing the issue of poverty and social insecurity, the conference adopted that political space should be expanded to accommodate more women and persons living with disabilities, often disadvantaged because of affluence.
Also, it approved that traditional rulers should keep out of politics while the role of traditional institutions should be recognised as advisory in the constitution.
While the conference approved the involvement of traditional institutions in matters of tradition, culture and dispute resolution, it however, turned down their involvement in boundary adjustment.
It was equally recommended that the responsibility of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) should be transferred from the Federal Ministry of Justice to the National Human Rights Commission to ensure compliance.
The conference further voted that FOIA should be reviewed to make it more workable and accessible in order to educate the populace about its content.
The conference also voted in favour of the provision of adequate resources to the NHRC to create and maintain a data base on violence.
On election matters, the conference voted against inducement of voters with money or materials on election day, adding that it should be portrayed as a criminal offence and perpetrators should be severely punished.
In the same vein, all unelected chairmen of local government councils often referred to as transition committee chairmen should be sanctioned by withholding their statutory allocations.
It added that such allocations should be withheld pending the conduct of elections into such local government areas.
However, the move to reduce voting age to 17 as well as inclusion of the principle of self determination in the Nigeria constitution was rejected.
The call to enact a law to presume all retired and current public office holders living beyond their legitimate earnings, guilty until they can prove their innocence was rejected.
The committee’s proposal for each state of the federation to be empowered by the constitution and to have their own constitution was however put on hold.
This was because the delegates could not arrive at a conclusion on the matter. (NAN)