Why Dickson cancelled meeting with ex-MEND leaders
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
FRESH facts have emerged on how security
and intelligence reports made Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa
State to cancel the meeting of former leaders of the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which was convened by Government
Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson,
had in a terse statement announced the cancellation of the meeting,
promising the former agitators that he would meet with them to discuss their grievances in the overall interest of the Niger Delta.
Dickson, investigation revealed, was forced to cancel
the meeting when he received a security report that some politicians
in the state had sponsored a parallel meeting of some former militants.
The motive, according to a source, who was in the know of the security report, was to instigate crisis, which would portray Dickson and Bayelsa State in bad light in the eyes of the Presidency.
On moves by Dickson to meet with the former militants’ leaders and
take up the issue of the amnesty programme with the Federal Government,
the source said the governor had realised that the Ijaw people now
look up to him to project their interests at the national level.
According to the source, Dickson enjoyed enormous goodwill from politicians across party divide and there was the belief that because of the respect the Federal Government had for him, he would be able to resolve the issue.
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