Prominent Ijaw leader, Ediwn Clark, has spoken about what
transpired during the meeting between Niger Delta Elders and the Acting
President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday.
Clark noted that the Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND) was present at the meeting and denied that the group had
withdrawn from the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), as stated by its
spokesperson Jomo Gbomo.
He described Gbomo as a non-existent entity, saying it is a
“fake name”.
“MEND was in the meeting. Jomo Gbomo does not exist as a
human being, that is a ghost name, fake name,” Clark said.
“Other organisations were here. I am the leader of the Niger
Delta and every leader you can think of from Cross River to Ondo state were all
here today”, he added.
Clark described the discussion with Osinbajo as “honest,
truthful, forthright,” adding that they were “very satisfied”.
He said: “No more ultimatum. We agreed on many things. They
came with their own address, the ministers all spoke, presented their cases and
at the end, the Acting President rounded it up.
“We saw his genuineness, forthrightness, he is a gentleman.
We are satisfied. We have agreed to work together and the issue of dialogue
must take place.
“The message we are sending back home is that we had the
opportunity to meet with Mr Acting President, we discussed our 16-point agenda
and government’s 20-point agenda and we are all satisfied. We all agreed that
everyone should maintain peace.”
By Ifreke Inyang
