South-South governors, leaders protest botched meeting with FG

18 Nov South-South governors, leaders protest botched meeting with FG

Governors, leaders and other stakeholders in the South-South Geo-political zone have expressed regret over the failure of the Federal Government to attend a planned meeting with leaders of the region.

They have demanded an unreserved apology from the presidency for abruptly aborting the planned crucial stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

The presidency had scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with the Governors and other leaders of the oil-rich region to discuss burning national issues affecting the region and the aftermath effects of the EndSARS protest.
The FG’s delegation was supposed to include all the Ministers from the geopolitical zone and other persons, to be led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Agboola Ibrahim Gambari

The stakeholders from the region and their governors who were seated at the venue of the meeting, Banquet Hall of the Government House, Port Harcourt, till 3:00 pm, when the news filtered in that the delegation from the presidency would not make it.

Speaking to the South-South leaders at the hall, the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, expressed sadness that the meeting was called off. Okowa explained that the meeting time was earlier adjusted twice from 11 am to 1 pm on the same day on the excuse that the President Mohammed Buhari was meeting with the Director of Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police, who was supposed to be part of the presidential delegation for the meeting.

Governor Okowa, who is also the chairman of South-South Governors Forum, said he later got a call from the Chief of Staff to the President on Tuesday afternoon, announcing the eventual cancelation of the meeting.

According to him, he felt disappointed that the region could be treated in such disdain.

“We deserve as a region unreserved public apology to the region, particularly to our traditional rulers and the leaders in this zone, which include our Christian leaders, opinion leaders, our women, and our youths, and also the governors of the zone who were voted into office and that is the least that we expect for us to accept the reconvene of this meeting,” he added.