By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA — First military governor of Gombe State, Group Captain Joseph Orji (rtd), has declared that it would be lack of understanding and knowledge for anyone to suggest that the 2014 national conference was a failure.

Orji spoke against the backdrop of sundry insinuations that the conference’s recommendation for the constitution of a technical committee by the Presidency to resolve the deadlock on derivation and resource control marred the four months old conference.

Speaking with Vanguard in Abuja, Orji stated that the conference recorded over 90 per cent consensus on all the recommendations of the 20 standing committees, except on derivation.

Justifying the decision, the former military administrator, who is also a delegate to the national conference on the platform of the Federal Government, said the government was in a better position to know the appropriate percentage it would approve from its revenue base to boost the current 13 per cent for Niger Delta states.

He said: “It would be lack of understanding and knowledge by anyone to suggest that the National Conference 2014 was a failure because it referred the issue of derivation to the Federal Government.

“It should be noted that the issue of derivation was an insignificant item compared to the wide range of national challenges successfully treated on consensus by the conference delegates.

”It would be recalled that the derivation fund is already in existence and has been applied by the Federal Government of Nigeria at least 13 per cent from the Federal Government’s share of revenue.

“The reason, amongst others, that encouraged the national conference to refer the issue of derivation to the Federal Government is to allow the Federal Government through a technical committee to workout what would be the affordable increment, since this would come from the Federal Government’s share of revenue.”