Confab wants immunity clause removed

If National Conference delegates had their way, the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies would be stripped of their constitutional immunity which protects them from prosecution.

Section 308(1) says “no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom the section applies during his period in office; and a person to whom the section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise; and no process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of a person to whom the section applies, shall be applied for or issued”.

The National Conference, however, overwhelmingly resolved on Thursday that the clause should be removed from the constitution.

The resolution was based on the report by the committee on economy, trade and investment headed by Hajiya Bola Shagaya with Fola Adeola as her deputy.

Conference also resolved that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should be made to pay prevalent interest rates on duly delayed remittances to the federation account.

The conference urged the national assembly to enact a law that would prohibit government from going abroad to source for goods that are available in Nigeria.

This is to encourage consumption of made-in-Nigeria products.

A pro-gender policy to provide a special fund for interest-free loans for women farmers, marketers, traders, transporters, and owners of rural cooperatives was also proposed by the delegates.

It was agreed that all banks should establish gender desks to ease the stress of borrowing by women.

Other agreed proposals are:

• A reduction by 50% of the cost of tuition, books, equipment and hostel for all female students in secondary and post-secondary education
• Central Bank of Nigeria should establish a special interest regime of a single digit for industries
• Operators of micro, small and medium enterprises should be duly registered and provided with tax holidays of three years to relieve them of the burden of multiple taxation and enhance their productivity
• Local textile manufacturing industries were exempted from paying Value Added Tax (VAT) for three years while imported textiles should attract a levy of not less than 5% of the value of goods imported to boost the textile revival fund
•  Government should completely release the N100 billion budgeted for the cotton, textile and garment revival scheme through the Bank of Industry.
• Government to send anti-trust bill to the national assembly to stop monopolies