Onyebuchi Ezigbo And Damilola Oyedele
4 July 2008
Abuja — President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday broke his silence on the raging controversy over the proposed Niger Delta Stakeholders' Summit, insisting that it must hold in the interest of peace and security and for the development of the oil-producing region.
He said the summit was crucial to the implementation of policies of his administration, promising that it would not turn out to be another "pointless and diversionary jamboree as some fear".
And following the criticism trailing the involvement of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as a key figure in the organisation of the summit, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to the federal government to consider dropping him to retain the integrity of the summit.
Gambair's involvement has been criticised following what was described as his hostile disposition to the agitations in the Niger Delta while he was Nigeria's Permanent Repre-sentative to the United Nations when Gen. Sani Abacha was in power.
According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, the misconceptions about the proposed summit "are not necessary as it was one of Yar'Adua campaign promises to Nigeria as outlined in the seven-point agenda".
He described the summit as "a critical first step" and "take-off point" for the socio-economic development of the region.
One of the primary objectives of the summit, he said, is to evolve an across-the-board consensus and commitment from all concerned parties to end the incessant violence in the region "and engender a much more conducive atmosphere for the massive improvement of infrastructure and social services in the region".
He said: "The President believes that the summit is necessary to obtain a firm and binding commitment from all stakeholders to stop all acts of violence and criminality which have unfortunately turned the Niger Delta into a no-go area for many of the construction companies and contractors whose services are required for provision of essential amenities in the region.
"The sad reality of the present situation in the region is that by the time President Yar'Adua assumed office last year, most of the contractors mobilised to sites in the area had abandoned their projects-some after collecting huge sums of money-because of insecurity and the ever-present threats of violence.
"The continual disruption of work by armed gangs, kidnappings of expatriate personnel and family members for ransom as well as the necessity and cost of providing high level security cover for workers, sometimes involving deployment of troops, have today driven up the cost of executing projects in the Niger Delta by about 300 per cent with no guarantee of completion.
"Under these circumstances, President Yar'Adua considered it absolutely necessary to engage all stakeholders in the region in meaningful and purposeful dialogue aimed at removing fundamental obstacles to the implementation of his administration's plans for Niger Delta."
He said the urgent resolution of the developmental challenges of the Niger Delta remains a very critical element of the Yar'Adua administration's seven-point agenda and "the success of the Stakeholders Summit is central to efforts to fulfill the administration's commitments in this regard".
While maintaining that much thought and effort had already gone into the conception and planning of the summit, the president was said to have set up two committees last year.
He personally chaired one of the committees which has been engaging governors from the region and other critical stakeholders in reviewing the Niger Delta Development Masterplan as developed by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and working out details of the implementation plan with deliverables by each of the stakeholders and timelines, the statement said.
The second committee, according to Adeniyi, was headed by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan "to synthesise all previous attempts and reports on the resolution of the problems of the Niger Delta, engage all the stakeholders, including the militants and elders in the region, work out the modalities for the Summit, appoint the Chairperson for the Steering Committee and establish the parameters for discourse".
Once the summit has held and achieved its key objective of getting all stakeholders to buy into the Yar'Adua administration's agenda for the region and guarantee the creation of the right conditions of peace and security for the rapid execution of the agenda, the Federal Government will move very quickly to begin the faithful implementation of the Niger Delta Development Master Plan, the statement added.
The NLC, meanwhile, said in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr. John Odah, yesterday that because Gambari's personality had been embroiled in controversy and "having hurt the sensibilities of major parties in the conflict through his utterances, he no longer possesses the right credibility to coordinate the peace conference".
"We believe that the Summit will not be a success if the person who chairs it is a subject of controversy, especially amongst key stakeholders. Having made offensive comments in relation to the self-determination struggle of the people of the Niger Delta in the past, Prof. Gambari's suitability is questionable," it said.
NLC said the President should save the summit's integrity by dropping Gambari and appointing a new chairman "who is not compromised and who is fully acceptable to the Niger Delta".
The congress said it believes that Gambari has no ulterior motives or personal interests to be served at the Summit and as such he should toe the path of honour by excusing himself from the summit.
"Though we believe that Professor Gambari, given his pedigree in the university system and international relations, is eminently qualified to chair such a summit, the nature of the crisis in the Niger Delta and the unprecedented protest against his appointment clearly shows that he is not suitable for the job," it said.
It is an acknowledged tenet of democracies the world over that the past utterances of potential public officer holders are usually x-rayed before such people are given new public positions, the congress said, adding that Gambari, by his own admission of his activities and utterances during the Abacha era, is clearly inappropriate to chair the summit.
"If Prof. Gambari had been a controversial mediator in Myanmar (Burma) or former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan had been a source of controversy in Kenya, their missions would have been compromised," it said.
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Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Publish the Niger-Delta Master Plan he proposes to execute.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua publish the exact date he intends to commence the execution of the Master Plan.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua commence the demobalisation of the military(exepting strategic areas which had had military presence before now) in the Niger-Delta.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua increase the presence of the Police do the traditional job of society policing.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua assist in the release of any and every Niger-Delta leader/youth whose detention has in one way or another been linked with MEND activities.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua arrange to convene his much talked about summit in the first week of August with a view of commencing his Master Plan implimentation at the end of August,2008.
Let President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua act fast, knowing that this is a matter of utmost national urgency, which ordinarily would have elicited a state of emergency. In fact, Let president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua see his summit as "the Peoples state of emergency", so that he can moved far away from the advice of people that had never wished Nigeria well; and urgently do what is right in the Niger-Delta.
Let president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua sing the song to Gambari, Arewa and a handfull of others that the development of the Niger-Delta is the development of Nigeria.And that it is long over due. Consequently, cursorily blaming Niger-Delta Governors, Leaders,Youths;13%, OMPADEC/NDDC and selves at this instance is neither here nor there.
The President can appoint me,A.A-Delaw to co ordinate the Summit on Niger-Delta and the decision implimentation stage.Let no allowances be paid me.Let no extra security be given me. Let the President provde me with needed means of transportation and communication in the cause of executing all that is and would be required.
Let the President act now!
Let the president know that the Niger-Delta Crises can go away in a matter of days,(if only the President wants it to; and peacefully too) while, the Nigeria police can take charge of the issues of crime and hooliganism, which in itself is in no way associated with the genuine struggle of the Niger-Deltans. And to this end, the FG could be sure the Niger-Deltans would be committed to helping the society get rid of criminals and criminality.
Long Live Nigeria!!!