Deputy Chairman of 2014 National Conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has said the late former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’abba, was one of the delegates, who worked assiduously with the management team to ensure the conference was a success.

Na’Abba died in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Akinyemi described the death of Na’Abba as a loss, saying Nigeria needed him to help the country remain united and progressive.

Bolaji’s statement is contained in a tribute he wrote in honour of the late Speaker of the House of Representatives

Going down memory lane, he wrote: “In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a National Conference to provide a blueprint for the future of Nigeria. I worked with Oronto Douglas, one of the trusted aides of President Jonathan to fashion a blueprint.

“President Jonathan was a convert from the beginning but he wanted reassurance that the exercise would not be a failure, that there would be no walkout and in exchange, he assured us that there would be no background manipulation.

“Unfortunately, he kept his own side of the bargain but the owners of Nigeria did not believe him and were determined to derail the conference at all costs. That they did not succeed was due to the honesty and integrity of the Chairman of the conference, the late Hon Justice Kutigi, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria.”

He said the tribute to Na’Abba should have been written by Justice Kutigi but unfortunately he died last year, making the duty fall on him as his Deputy Chairman to pay tribute to Na’Abba.

He recalled that over 300 delegates of the best and the brightest of Nigerians were assembled at the conference and “we succeeded in approving over 600 resolutions by consensus,” and Na’Abba was one of them.