DR Akpor Mudiaga-Odje is a lawyer and human rights activist with a special devotion to issues concerning the Niger Delta region. Mudiaga-Odje, in this interview spoke on the proposed National Conference and other national issues of interests. Excerpts:

By Festus Ahon

What is your take on the National confab?
Great, that is another aspect of the government that has shown that this is a listening and responsible government, because when several people say something to the government it is either government accepts or rejects it.  Talk we must talk. Definitely Nigeria is overdue for talking, we can talk on why we don’t want to stay together. We can talk on how we can stay together on conditions. The outcome should be given to the public or the masses to affirm or reject it.

Indeed President Abraham Lincoln once told us that constitutions are made by the people, they have a right to amend it, they have a right to re-amend it, they have a right to tinker with it, and they even have a right to overthrow it because power flows from the people. The Ghanaian constitution of 1993 passed this process of affirmation by referendum.

They first did a consultation within the assembly on constitutional changes, brought a draft, put it to the public with the petitions and the referendum was 92 per cent yes, and that was what put the Ghanaian constitution of 1993 in place.

I believe we can follow that kind of process. We can tell the government to send an amendment bill to the National Assembly to incorporate it (referendum) because the provision of our constitution does not have provision for referendum and because the members of the National Assembly want to protect their electoral mandate they would not yield to a situation where they would be bypassed for the people to now affirm the decisions of the National confab. But if that is not done, then it would be a wasted effort.

People make a constitution not the National Assembly. National Assembly can never make a constitution, National Assembly is a body set to amend a constitution, yes, to make laws, yes, but not to make a constitution.
There is no where that a National Assembly makes constitution, the constitution is made by the people from their accredited representatives and thereafter reaffirmed, to be double sure, by the votes and referendum by those people who sent their delegates to go and debate for them.

That is how real constitution emanates and that is why the thing is even known as grassroots constitution. I have not seen anywhere in a flourishing democracy where the National Assembly makes a constitution for the people.

What is your take on the missing $49billon?
This has been a running commentary since September 24th 2004, when the erstwhile President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo opened the Excess Crude Oil Account.
Since then money above the bench mark of the budget have been paid into that account and 13 per cent derivation does not accrue to that account.

Now there are many things that are not remitted into the federation account. Apart from the excess crude oil, the petroleum profit taxes are not paid, royalties are not paid into the 13% derivation account. These funds are held by the institutions and establishment of government which collect these taxes. So we as Niger Deltans first of all have been deprived of the payment of even the meager 13% derivation that the constitution has approved for us, then Nigerians who are to share the balance are not seeing anything because these funds are not remitted into the federation account.

Section 162 (1) says all revenues, and if you look at the definition at section 162(3) it says revenue is defined as any return to government no matter how it is described must be paid into the federation account but government doesn’t do so.

So when this controversy erupted, the Petroleum Minister debunked it, the GMD, NNPC debunked it and they came to a reconciliation table, the Minister of Finance, the CBN Governor and the Minister of Petroleum where they now agreed tentatively.

But the CBN said $12billion and government said $10.8 billion was unaccounted for.
Whatever, however and wherever the calculations, even if we admit without grievance, if we try to look into the $10.8 billion without admitting that, that is the amount, we are talking about N1.6 trillion not paid or remitted into the federation account. Imagine 13 per cent of N1.6 trillion. So these are the questions we are asking; why does government not remit these resources into the federation account?

It is no longer $10.8billion  but where it has been sitting, the money has been paid, interest has been accruing, together with the interest should be paid as a first step to show government transparency before going to see whether it is $12 billion, whether it is $49 billion or it is $10 billion.