Concerned and worried by the situation in the Niger Delta region, leaders of the region under the umbrella of Pan Niger Delta Forum have summoned six governors of the Niger Delta states namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa,Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo and Rivers to settle their political differences and act as one team in the interest of the region.
The committee set up by Pan Niger Delta Forum was headed by former Governor of Akwa Ibom State Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd.) during their last meeting at Kiagbodo in Delta State to address many issues affecting the region.
While speaking, Akwa-Ibom State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Uwemedimo Nwoko, however, disagreed that the governors were not working together.
He decried the constant intimidation and harassment of outspoken Rivers State governor, Wike, by the Federal Government which he said was one of the reasons why other governors of the region, who are mostly members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, not to speak up to avoid confrontation.
His words, “I will not believe that the governors are not working together and I do not think the perception that they are not working together is correct. They have regular interactions, it may not really have a formal meeting and all that, but I believe that they a way of interfacing with themselves very regularly in the interest of the region and the nation at large.
“Very recently, you found out that in virtually all their engagements, the Rivers State governor is interacting with the Akwa Ibom State governor and Akwa Ibom State governor is interacting with Cross River, Bayelsa, and Delta governors and they are all working together.
“For instance, the governors have been working with the elders and other stakeholders in the region trying as much as possible to talk to the youths not to overreact in the face of injustice against the region because whether anybody accepts it or not, the reaction of the youths is a reaction against injustice. And it takes a lot to talk to them not to over react.”
Nwoko decried a situation where some outspoken governors in the region such as Wike of Rivers State were being harassed and intimidated on regular basis by the federal agencies, saying those were among the reasons others appeared to be silent over certain issues affecting the region.
In danger of extinction: “They may not want to talk about some issues because they are endangered species. So the governors may feel that if they take the same step like Wike they will fall into the same trap and they have representatives at the National Assembly and they have been talking.
“Somebody like Amaechi was a governor of Rivers State for eight years and now he is a Minister of Transportation. What is he doing? There are other people that have been appointed into position by the ruling party at the federal level, so what are they are doing to protect the interest of this region,” he queried.
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