Osinbajo’s Meeting with PANDEF: Forget Dialogue, Declare N-Delta Republic — Groups

Ahead of today’s meeting of Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo with leaders of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, led by Chief Edwin Clark, pan-Niger Delta civil groups, yesterday, told PANDEF, that the meeting had been overtaken by events, advising the group to, instead, declare a Republic of Niger Delta and call for a referendum.


The groups, Niger Delta Security Watch Organisation of Nigeria, NDSWON; Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, IPDI; Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusaders, FOHURAC, and Ijaw Human Rights Monitors, IHRM, led by Dickson Bekederemo, Austin Ozobo, Alaowei Cleric and Fred Brisibe, respectively, addressed newsmen in Warri, Delta State.

They said: “It is our clarion demand that PANDEF stop any further dialogue with the government. We did not ask PANDEF to give Federal Government a November 1 ultimatum to begin a dialogue process. Such ultimatum appears to be a face-saving move invented by a people not respected by the government of the day.”

Also, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND and the Reformed Egbesu Assembly, REF, have withdrawn their mandate from the Chief Clark-led forum.

MEND, in a statement by the spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, said the Clark and King Alfred Diete-Spiff group lacked the moral justification to issue ultimatum to the Federal Government, while the General Officer Commanding, REF, Tony Alagbakereowei, said the group had lost its relevance in the scheme of things.

Dissociating MEND from PANDEF, Gbomo said: “In view of our irreconcilable differences, MEND hereby recalls its representatives in PANDEF for consultation with immediate effect.”