By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- THE Apex Socio political body of the South South Geo-political zone, Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF has raised the alarm that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Nyesom Wike is using all available means to block peace efforts to address the crisis rocking Rivers State.

PANDEF has condemned in very strong terms, recent remarks by Wike, accusing him of undermining critical peace efforts in Rivers State, just as it expressed disappointment over Wike’s public disparagement of the apex socio-political body of the South South Geo-political zone less than 24 hours after its delegation met with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

PANDEF has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure that Wike comes to the negotiation table before the situation in Rivers State escalates out of control.

Addresing journalists yesterday in Abuja, the Chairman of PANDEF’s Peace and Reconciliation Committee and former Governor of Cross River State, Obong Victor Attah said that all efforts to engage the former Rivers State Governor with its Peace and Reconciliation Committee, despite President Bola Tinubu’s appeal for dialogue to restore stability in Rivers State have proved abortive.

Flanked at the briefing by PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, the National Publicity Secretary, Olorogun Obiuwevbi Ominimini, other Executive members of PANDEF, Obong Attah lamented that Wike’s unwillingness to meet with the committee is obstructing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the state.

Attah disclosed how PANDEF, a respected regional body established in 2016 to champion the interests of the Niger Delta, had taken proactive steps to help nip in the bud the political crisis in Rivers State.

He said, “Following a Special General Assembly in Port Harcourt in October 2024, the group set up a seven-member High-Level Peace and Reconciliation Committee.
Notably, the committee excluded any representatives from Rivers State to ensure neutrality.

“In a determination to prevent a full-blown crisis from developing, we constituted a team of eminent elders from across the South-South region.

“However, despite repeated attempts, we have been unable to secure a meeting with Chief Nyesom Wike, who has continued to rebuff our peace efforts.”

Attah who noted that a PANDEF delegation met with President Tinubu on March 11, 2025, to seek his intervention, said that the delegation made it clear that the success of any peace process hinged on Wike’s willingness to come to the table.




https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/pandef-accuses-wike-of-frustrating-peace-moves-in-rivers/