May not meet Thursday deadline

By HENRY UMORU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

TWENTY- FOUR days after delegates broke into committees, strong indications emerged yesterday that the Committee on Religion may not end its discussions on thematic issues before Thursday’s deadline on account of irreconcilable differences.

At its resumed session yesterday at Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, members of the committee were sharply divided on reports and number of memoranda received. Some members did not agree with Secretary of the Committee, Vincent Anigbo, who declared that the committee received 30 memoranda, saying the figure was less.

Apart from the consensus that government should hands off the funding of religious pilgrimages, Christmas carols, education and other privileges hitherto given to religion, the committee is yet to agree on any other issue even as the time stipulated for committees to complete their assignments is Thursday this week.

Indeed, suspicion trailed a tentative report prepared by the secretary of the committee with some members accusing the co-chair of using the secretary who is of the same religion to write report that favours one of the religions.

Members who spoke were either in support or against the tentative report, which the secretary explained was harmonisation of all deliberations into a guideline, to enable members produce the final report as time was no longer there for the delegates.

In his contribution, Barrister John Achimugu, who raised the suspicion, but later apologised to Prof Ishaq Oloyede, whose name was mentioned, wondered why the secretary prepared the report when members had not agreed on some of the issues, especially on state religion.

To save the situation, the Co-chair, Bishop Femi Ajakaiye, who frowned at the lack of agreement among members, observed that other committees had submitted their reports while the religion committee has continued to waste time, adding that the secretary wrote the report as a the basis for taking decisions since the committee had touched on every issue but yet to harmonise them even when time was fast running out.