Niger Delta elders meet Osinbajo 72 hours after issuing ultimatum

Niger Delta elders meet Osinbajo 72 hours after issuing ultimatum

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday hosted stakeholders from the Niger Delta region at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The meeting took place exactly three days after the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), a coalition of elders and leaders from the region, threatened to abandon peace negotiation with the federal government.

Among those in attendance were Edwin Clark, Ijaw leader; Alfred Diete-Spiff, a monarch; Victor Attah, a former governor; Timi Alaibe, former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, a former senator and Godknows Igali, former permanent secretary of the ministry of power.

On Monday, Clark had said government had until November to meet the 16-point agenda presented by the group.

He accused the government of not showing sincerity.

Among the demands of the group are the relocation of oil companies to the region, resource control and the establishment of Maritime University.

But a group known as the Niger Delta Peoples Congress (NDPC) had described the ultimatum given to the government as selfish and unpatriotic, “considering the right steps taken so far by the federal government”.

The threat to peace in the region may disrupt oil production, which has relatively peaked.



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