Saturday 29 March 2014

Request for extension may not be granted — Presidency

President Goodluck Jonathan may not extend the three-month timeline given to the Justice Idris Kutigi-led National Conference to complete its assignment, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt on Friday.

A Presidency source, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent on Thursday that the idea of extending the duration was currently not in the President’s plan.

The source said any attempt to extend the duration would end up confirming the position of the opposition that the conference was coming too close to the 2015 general election.

He said that was why the President called on the leadership of the conference in his inauguration speech to work hard to meet  the deadline ahead of the elections.

“I urge all officials and participants in the National Conference to work extra hard to ensure that their deliberations are completed on schedule, well ahead of the schedule of events for the next general election already announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission,” the President had said.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, on the matter did not yield any result on Thursday as he was on Jonathan’s entourage to Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire for the 44th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Economic Community of West African States  Heads of State and Government.

Copyright PUNCH.

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