The Federal Government delegation has finally met with South-South region’s Governors and some traditional leaders, a few days after the disagreements over their cancelled meeting.
According to the information made available online by the Personal Assistant on New Media to the President, Bashir Ahmad , the FG delegation to the meeting with the South-South region’s leaders, was led by Chief of Staff to President Muhammed Buhari, Prof. Gambari.
Others in the delegation to the Government House in Port Harcourt River State, are the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police and Director-General, Department of Security Service (DSS).
Before now, the initially scheduled meeting with the South-South region’s leaders was called off without prior notice to the people of the region, which led to the people from the region demanding an apology from the government. The government tended their apology, wherein a statement released on Wednesday 18th November 2020, by the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, said the Presidency expressed regret for the cancelled meeting, and the inconvenience caused the hosts of the meeting.
The statement to the South-South region’s governors and leaders, had read:
“The Presidency wishes to explain that the absence of the federal government delegation at the planned meeting with governors and stakeholders of the South-South region was necessitated by an emergency security meeting summoned by the President, certainly not out of disrespect.
The delegation to the meeting, under the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, ministers and heads of security and intelligence agencies were in full readiness to proceed to Port Harcourt until they were directed to stay back for the emergency security meeting.
This information and regret for the inconvenience caused were conveyed to the hosts of the meeting through what we believed were the right channels.
As may have been gleaned from the statement read by the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, the extraordinary National Security Council meeting, under the President, was called in view of the gravity of the security situation affecting all parts of the country, including the South-South in the aftermath of the ENDSARS protests, and the need to rise to protect our national security and territorial integrity.
The President is strongly and resolutely committed to hearing from leaders, stakeholders and our youth on burning issues affecting all parts of the federation,and to this effect, a new date for the meeting with the South-South will be agreed after due consultations with the parties concerned.
Once again, the unavoidable postponement of the meeting is regretted,” the statement said.
The statement from the South-South region’s Governors and leaders had demanded an unreserved apology from the presidency for abruptly aborting a crucial stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt.
According to the statement released on Tuesday 17th November 2020, by the Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor, on media, Kelvin Ebiri, the presidency had fixed a meeting for Tuesday with the South-South Governors and other leaders of the region to discuss burning national issues affecting the region and the aftermath effects of the EndSARS protest. The Federal Government delegation was supposed to include all the Ministers from the geopolitical zone and other persons.
Addressing South-South leaders at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Port Harcourt, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa who presided over the session, narrated the botched meeting which was called at the instance of the presidency, through the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Agboola Ibrahim Gambari. He explained that the meeting time was adjusted twice from 11am to 1pm on Tuesday, on the excuse that the President Mohammedu Buhari was meeting with Director of Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police, who were supposed to be part of the presidential delegation for the South-South meeting.
Governor Okowa, who is also the chairman of South-South Governors Forum, said he later got a call from the Chief of Staff to the President on Tuesday afternoon, announcing the eventual cancellation of the meeting.
According to him, he felt really disappointed that the region could be treated in such disdain.
ksaid the people of the region have been embarrassed, disgraced and disrespected. He stated that the South-South geopolitical zone is a very important component part of the nation and the South-South governors feel insulted because the traditional rulers who had gathered for the meeting, deserved to be revered.
“As governors, we feel very touched and very sad about what has happened. And having also listened to our youths, we can feel the anger.
As a mark of respect for our people, because you are actually the stakeholders of our region, we felt it was necessary for us to consult with you before taking any decision, if we take our decision without consulting with you, then we would have added to the disrespect that has just been meted on you.
“We call for a public apology, not for the governors alone. We call for a public apology because this meeting was not called at our instance. It was called at the instance of the Presidency.
The time was changed last night. We understood and we talked to our people. Some of us did not sleep in trying to put things together. We have gotten to a very bad start. So we are going to convey this message to the chief of staff to the president. He further continued:
“We deserve as a region unreserved public apology to the region, particularly to our traditional rulers and the leaders in this zone, which include our Christian leaders, opinion leaders, our women and our youths, and also the governors of the zone who were voted into office and that is the least that we expect for us to accept the reconvene of this meeting.”
Former President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Ledum Mitee, said he concerns the abrupt cancellation of the meeting not only as an insult but an effrontery on the people of the South-South zone.
Similarly, member of the 2014 national political reform conference, Ms Ann-Kio Briggs, said the Federal Government on Tuesday demonstrated the value it actually place on the South-South geopolitical zone.
On his part, the President of the Ijaw Youth Congress, Peter Igbifa, accused the federal government of taking the South-South for granted.
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, who hosted the meeting, described Rivers State, which is the capital of the South-South as safe.
Present at the meeting were also the Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River; Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akw Ibom; Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State; and Godwin Obaseki of Edo State. Other eminent persons present included: the National Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, rtd; former President, Nigerian Bar Association, Onueze Okocha (SAN); among others.