Dickson Holds Closed-door Meeting with Ibori on Niger Delta

Citing the need to deploy his influence in the Niger Delta to curb the crisis in the region, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, yesterday visited Oghara, the country home of Chief James Ibori, former Governor of Delta State, to request his assistance in ensuring that peace returns to the oil-rich region.

Journalists were not allowed in during the meeting which was held behind closed doors, but it was learnt that the need to consolidate on the current fragile peace in the region, dominated the talks.

Ibori, who still commands a high level of respect in the Niger Delta, was said to have assured his guest of his readiness to cooperate whenever his help is needed, to prevail on the restive youths on the need to embrace peace.

The ex-governor, a ‘resource control’ proponent, in his days as leader of the oil-rich state, is said to have been instrumental to the process of confidence building that culminated in ex-President Umar Yar’Adua’s Presidential Amnesty Programme which brought temporary reprieve in the exploitation of crude oil in the region.

Dickson, who was accompanied by some members of the Bayelsa State Executive Council, also reportedly engaged Ibori on the best way to take the youths off the streets and creeks of the Delta and get them meaningfully employed.

Confirming the meeting in a Government House statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso Markson, said the visit was meant to find solutions to some lingering issues in the Niger Delta.

“The meeting centred mostly on peace and security in the Niger Delta as well as possible roles the former Delta State governor, who still commands a lot of respect among his people, could play, especially in the area of rallying major stakeholders towards tackling some of the peace and security challenges in the region,” the government statement said.

It added: “The two leaders equally discussed likely windows of opportunities for criminally-minded youths in the region to be more meaningfully engaged as well as protect some of the critical national assets of the country within the region.”

The government statement said the Bayelsa State Governor had earlier spoken with his Delta State counterpart, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who was happy with the new move to secure peace in the Niger Delta.

“He (Okowa) expressed satisfaction with the disposition and resolve of the former Governor to support current measures at tackling the age long security challenges in the region”, Dickson’s spokesman said.

He noted that Dickson was accompanied by the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government, Serena Dokubo-Spiff, and some members of the State Executive Council, including the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, during the visit.