Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, at the weekend, described the N7billion earmarked for the proposed national conference as a waste of resources, insisting that the exercise would not result in any fundamental difference in the condition of the country.
Bishop Kukah, who was Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference in 2005, also described the planned proposed conference as another forum for political noise-making.
The fiery clergy spoke on the occasion of the signing of Tripartite Partnership Agreement among the American Specialist Hospital Limited, GE Healthcare (USA) and Edifice Capital (France) for the $73 million American Specialist Hospital for Women and Children.
In the 2005 National Political Reform Conference which Bishop Kukah was Secretary, N932 million was proposed by President Olusegun Obasanjo for the conference.
In his reaction to the N7billion proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan for the conference, Kukah said in an interview with journalists in Abuja that “N7 billion is just pocket money, it is chicken fee by Nigerian standard, considering how much money have been stolen from this country.
“Frankly, even if they are going to commit N10 billion for people to stay in hotels in Nigeria, the money is not the issue, building a nation is a serious matter.