Clark accuses top Presidency official, former South South governor of working against Niger Delta
ON November 11, 2017 6:13 AM / IN News / BY Ugoh Solomon Chinonso•As PANDEF, PNDPC leaders clash
By Emma Amaize,
Regional Editor, South-South
THE bitterness among leaders of the Niger Delta region, especially the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, led by former Federal Commissioner for Information, Senator Edwin Clark, and Pan Niger Delta People Congress, PNDPC, headed by a top monarch, Pere of Seimbiri Kingdom, Delta State, HM Charles Ayemi-Botu, alias Lion of Niger, is escalating rather than diminishing.
Both groups have been at daggers drawn for months running over the sudden emergence of PNDPC, put in place by a militant group, Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, to replace PANDEF. In fact, the RNDA led by self-styled “Major General” Johnmark Ezonebi, proclaimed the disbanding of PANDEF and withdrawal of mandate from the regional body.
Minister, ex-gov, others fueling crisis
However, the animosity worsened after the October 26 disruption of PANDEF meeting at Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by security agents with both RNDA and PNDPC commending security operatives for baring their fang against the former.
Clark, who named a serving Minister from the region, a former South-South governor and top presidency official as the arrowheads of the offensive, lambasted the PNDPC leader, HM Ayemi-Botu, who he described as shameless for allowing detractors to use him to destabilize the region.
“I know that there are unpatriotic politicians in the Niger Delta, a serving Minister, a former governor, who are bent on accusing PANDEF as belonging to PDP. PANDEF does not belong to any political party. I re-emphasize that PANDEF is not PDP. For them to paint PANDEF in bad colour to government is very unfortunate,” he said.
He wondered why the monarch, who until recently was a member of PANDEF, would condescend to the level of working against the interest of the region and painting the group in bad light.
According to him, “So when I see the leader of PNDPC, whether he is New York, wherever he is, making his long speech, he should be ashamed of himself. Is he speaking on behalf of Niger Delta people or his so-called PNDPC ?”
“All I am saying is that I am appealing to all Niger Delta politicians, personalities, traditional rulers and others that we have no other home than Niger Delta. Any resort to hostilities in Niger Delta will affect us,” he asserted.
- His words, “All breakaway groups, which are being encouraged by elements in the federal government should find their way back to PANDEF; the federal government is only using them to create problem in the region.”
- Scale falling off their eyes
The Niger Delta leader stated that all the while, RNDA and PNDPC were acting as if PANDEF had no mandate, adding, “Now that the Niger Delta Avengers had come out to confirm that militants gave us mandate, I hope their eyes are clear.”
The PANDEF leader stated, “I am still expecting DSS to explain to us why they did what they did, preventing us from holding meeting. However, what is important is that now that Mr. President has come back, and during his two-year in office broadcast, he commended the leaders of the Niger Delta for maintaining peace in the area, so as far as I am concerned, we will make progress.”
“I am also appealing to the this top presidency official that is being used against Niger Delta that it is in the interest of government for him to co-operate with us. All what they are doing is to see that we do not succeed.
“They patronize smaller groups like the Pan Niger Delta People’s Congress and the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, I think that by now they must have seen that the actual people, who gave us the mandate have come out,” he said.
PANDEF no longer has mandate
Former national chairman of Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, who is on medical vacation in the United States, thundered angrily on phone, when asked for his comments on his description by Clark as a shameless person.
“No human being in his normal senses, who has no conscience and lacks respect for his king in Kiagbodo, will say that a renowned first- class monarch of high repute is not regarded by his people,”
He asserted, “In the first instance, PANDEF no longer has the mandate of the people of the Niger Delta region since it was withdrawn by agitators in the creek August 19, 2017, due to lack of credibility in the leadership of the body and was subsequently disbanded.”
“The mandate was given to a new group under my leadership. The security agents’ action was justified sequel to series of warning by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers and a coalition of nine militant groups that prevailed on the Federal Government to abort the meeting as they have lost the credibility to represent the region in future dialogue with the government,” he said..
Reacting to the claim by Clark that RNDA was nonexistent or at best laptop militants, the monarch asserted, “RNDA, which is the striking force of the NDA, split and renamed as the RNDA cannot be laptop militants and if so, let Clark produce who gave PANDEF the mandate before it became moribund.”
No authority to indict FG
He stated, “Chief Clark has no right to accuse the federal government because the latter has moral obligation in ensuring peace and stability as well as the protection of oil installations in the region, which is the economic hub of the country, since the militants threatened to blow up oil installations, hence the meeting became a security risk.”
“Secondly the publicity hype in the electronic and print media ran into millions of naira, and one would wonder where their source of funding is. Last year, during the meeting with President Buhari on November I, it was self –sponsored, but this time, the caliber of invitees included past and present governors with their deputies, ministers, National Assembly members etc,” he added.
“As their spokesperson Anab Sara- Igbe confirmed that the constitution of the moribund PANDEF allows them to raise funds from oil companies, interventionist agencies, etc, thus becoming a money- making forum, whose leadership is a master of the game,” he retorted
We, not Clark started dialogue with militants
His words, “Chief Clark was not part of the dialogue group until some of our foot soldiers reported to him about four months after some of us had to take up the gauntlet in appealing to both the Federal Government and the militants to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue.”
“Sequel to that time, the U.S. Consulate General Mr. John F. Bray visited me in my Warri palace annex and had an hour closed door meeting and a joint press conference followed, calling on both Federal Govt. and the Avengers to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue.
“Then, Chief Clark was hiding in his village at Kiagbodo…when the leader of Aaron Team B. Chief T.K.Ogoriba and two others, Hendrix Opukeme and Kennedy Orubebe sold out our mission. He capitalized on it to usurp and subtly make himself the leader with HRM King Spiff and Obong Victor Attah as co-chairmen, and later became the sole convener and treasurer of the forum,” the monarch said.
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