Posted by By Onyedi Ojiabor, Sola Adebayo, Ibanga Isine and Mike Odiegwu on
The Federal Government may next week announce a new Steering Committee Chairman for the proposed Niger Delta Summit.
The Federal Government may next week announce a new Steering Committee Chairman for the proposed Niger Delta Summit.
The Minister of Special Duties, Chief Godsday Orubebe, gave the hint on Thursday just as the names of three eminent Nigerians were being touted in Abuja as the likely replacement for the United Nations Under Secretary-General, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
The eminent Nigerians are a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, an ex-Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; and a Catholic Cleric, Rev. Fr. Mathew Kukah.
Gambari had on Wednesday 'excused" himself from carrying out the assignment to avoid constituting an impediment to the 'laudable objectives" of the Federal Government to finding a lasting solution to the Niger Delta crisis.
His appointment was rejected by governors, elders and youths in the region who believed he had spoken badly about the Niger Delta people in the past.
But Orubebe, who, prior to Wednesday had vehemently defended the choice of Gambari as the summit's steering committee chairman, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that the Federal Government would make its final position on the summit known during President Umaru Yar'Adua's consultative meeting with stakeholders next week.
He said, 'The President just came back this (Thursday) morning and he will hold a series of meetings between now and next week.
'The final position will be made known to all stakeholders and Nigerians to know which way government is going."
Asked if the withdrawal of the diplomat had shaken the commitment of government to the summit, he replied, 'Absolutely no."
On the allegation by Niger Delta leaders that they were not consulted before Gambari's appointment, the minister said, 'carrying somebody along is relative, depending on how people look at it."
He explained that Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan consulted many groups and stakeholders before the choice of Gambari was made public.
Our correspondents also learnt in Abuja on Thursday that some leaders of thought and legislators from the Niger Delta had urged the government to consider Gowon, Anyaoku, or Kukah as Gambari's replacement.
A lawmaker from the region, who declined to have his name in print, said that Niger Delta people would accept any of the men for the job rather than a man insulated from Nigeria's domestic realities.
He said, 'We discussed this matter with the Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, but we did not reach any conclusion. That was the time when the Gambari issue came up. But as an individual, Anyaoku is eminently qualified to chair the summit.
'Gowon is also another good candidate, but whoever is chosen must be somebody that understands issues of the Niger Delta."
Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta on Thursday said it would suspend its ceasefire on Saturday in protest against United Kingdom's promise to support the Federal Government militarily.
It said in an e-mail statement to THE PUNCH that its first target would be UK's citizens in the Niger Delta.
The statement by MEND's spokesman, Mr. Jomo Gbomo, was sent just as Niger Delta leaders and youths hailed the withdrawal of the United Nations Under Secretary-General, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, as the chairman of the Steering Committee of the proposed Niger Delta summit
In the statement, MEND said any military assistance to the Federal Government would further lead to the oppression of the impoverished people of the Niger Delta.
The group had on June 23, 2008 announced the suspension of attacks on oil installations in the volatile region.
The statement reads, 'To demonstrate our seriousness to the UK support of an injustice, MEND will be calling off its unilateral ceasefire with effect from midnight, Saturday, July 12, 2008.
'President Umaru Yar‘Adua, in a fraudulent appeal to the G-8 leaders in Japan, misled the international community into believing that the unrest and agitation in the region is due to oil theft which encourages blood oil.
'The international community and independent researchers are very well aware that the unrest in the region is as a result of over five decades of oil exploration that has developed other parts of Nigeria to the detriment of the environment and people of the Niger Delta."
MEND accused the UK of being part of the Niger Delta problem through its pre-independence policies which gave leverage to some sections of the country against others.
It warned that if the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, made good ' his threat to support this criminality for the sake of oil, UK citizens and interests in Nigeria will suffer the consequences."