S’South Leaders Demand Apology From Presidency As Gambari Cancels Presidential Dialogue ‘Eleventh Hour’

For allegedly cancelling a re-scheduled presidential meeting and not giving cogent reasons for doing so reportedly at the ‘eleventh hour‘, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari has incurred the wrath of the leaders of the South-South geopolitical zone.

BIGPEN reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had few weeks ago delegated his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, to lead high profile government officials to various parts of the country to engage with youths and other stakeholders as part of the process to address their grievances resulting from the #EndSARS protest in the country.

Prof Gambari’s assignment came after President Buhari’s meeting with selected traditional rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, in Abuja.

However, Gambari, who had earlier met with South-East leaders and had scheduled meeting with leaders of the south-south geopolitical zone on Friday in Port-Harcourt reportedly moved the engagement to Tuesday but abruptly cancelled the meeting at the ‘eleventh hours’ when everyone was seated for it in Port-Harcourt apparently for another presidential meeting schedule for Tuesday at the presidential villa, Abuja.

This development, BIGPEN understands angered leaders and stakeholders in the region who described the situation as disrespect to the people of the region and called for an immediate public apology from the Presidency.

Sources at the meeting which had in attendance, River State Governor, Barr. Nyesom Wike, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Chairman, South South Governors; Udom Emmanuel of Akwa-Ibom State; Senator Ben Ayade, of Cross River State; Senator Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, said that the action of the Federal Government amounted to treating the South-South and its people with disdain, and warned on the consequences of undermining the zone.

The Governors of the South-South led by its Chairman and Governor of Delta, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who were in Port-Harcourt for the meeting, broke the news of the cancellation of the meeting after stakeholders comprising traditional rulers, religious leaders, opinion leaders, youths and women from the zone had seated at the Government House Port-Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.

Okowa, who spoke for the governors, informed the people that the Presidency gave an emergency security meeting called by President Muhammadu Buhari as reason for cancelling the Port-Harcourt meeting.

But in a solemn appeal to douse tension, Governor Okowa implored the people to remain calm in the face of the disrespect and embarrassment caused by the cancellation of the meeting.

He said that the governors were as pained as the other stakeholders over the disappointment, and assured that the governors would definitely convey the feeling of the people of the region to the Presidency.

“We understand the anger in you, and on our own part as governors, we are also angry because the South-South zone is a very important part of this nation.

“There is no doubt that we the governors also feel insulted and we feel very sad and touched at what has happened.

“We felt it was necessary to consult with you as critical stakeholders because if we had acted on the information without consulting you, that would have added to the insult already meted to us.

“Together we call for a public apology because the meeting was not called at our instance; it was called at the instance of the Presidency.

“Some of us didn’t sleep trying to put things in order to make this meeting a reality.

“We will convey this message to the Chief of Staff to the President that as a region we deserve public apology, particularly to our traditional rulers and opinion leaders and also to the Governors that you voted into office.

“This is the least we expect before this meeting can be reconvened,” Okowa stated.

BIGPEN recalls that issues of resource control, which has been a major topic in the Niger Delta region being the right to control or manage the revenue accruing from oil and other natural resources in line with the tenets of true federalism, was expected to be a major agenda of the meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

Also, to form major plank of discussion is the issues of restructuring of the country which has been agitating a section of the country.

Governor Okowa had hinted about the agenda of the meeting on Wednesday last week when he held his quarterly interactive session with journalists in Asaba, saying that states in the South-South region were united in the quest for restructuring of the country.

Okowa said that restructuring and resource control as well as security issues would form a major plank of the discussion at the meeting earlier scheduled for Friday, last week.

According to Okowa, Nigeria is not making progress as it ought to because the issues of restructuring and resource control are yet to be addressed.

“The South-South Governors have been in the forefront for the devolution of power to states and local governments.

“Restructuring, resource control and security of the country, especially in the Niger Delta will be a major topic of discussion at the Presidential parley coming up in Port Harcourt,” Okowa was quoted to have said.