11 July 2008
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Wednesday, declined his appointment as chairman of the steering committee of the proposed Niger Delta Summit.
In a statement from his New York base, he said: "I am grateful to His Excellency, President Umaru Yar'Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan for appointing me as chairman of the steering committee for the summit on the Niger Delta and particularly for the confidence reposed in me to help resolve one of the most intractable problems facing our country.
"I wish to put on record that I did not seek the position and I am not desperate to retain it. I felt it was my patriotic duty to accept the appointment and to discharge my duties to the best of my abilities.
"I have nothing but the highest regard for the people of the Niger Delta as an integral part of the Nigerian nation.
"It is my belief that the focus of this enterprise should be the Niger Delta but the perspective should be national while the international concern should not be ignored.
Furthermore, I believe that with my decades of experience in conflict resolution and management, I could make a contribution towards finding a just and lasting solution to the problem in the Niger Delta.
"I could also help mobilise international support for the implementation of the concrete outcomes of the summit.
"However, in spite of the best intentions of the President as well as my own commitment in accepting the position, my appointment has attracted what appears to be a well-orchestrated and relentless opposition from some quarters, institutions, groups and individuals who may nonetheless be central to the resolution of the crisis in the Delta.
"As a result, my name has become the issue in place of the attempt at finding a just and lasting solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta.
"In the light of this, I wish to be excused as the chairman of the steering committee of the summit. The laudable objectives of the Federal Government should not be defeated only because of the person in charge of the steering committee.
"The crisis in the Niger Delta and the country is much bigger than an individual. And no individual must stand in the way of the resolution of the crisis, including my humble self.
"I thank the President and the Federal Government of Nigeria for the opportunity and their understanding on this matter.
I stand ready to continue to make my contribution, as a Nigerian and based on my experience as a national and international civil servant, towards the peace, stability and social economic development of our country.
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