Chief (Dr) Obiuwevbi Ominimini, the National Publicity Secretary of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), while reacting on behalf of the group to the stoppage of federal allocations to Rivers State and the threat by ex-militants to resume hostility in the state, said that the state is the source of the huge funds Nigeria is realising from oil and gas, which he said is the nation’s main source of income.
“PANDEF recently issued a press statement telling the Supreme Court to rescind its decision on stopping federal allocations to the state because if the state has no money it means that women that are giving birth to children will suffer. It also means that victims of road accidents can’t be taken to emergency centers by ambulances.
“The social services of the government will be affected. So, that particular area of the judgement deals directly with the people. You will recall that when President Bola Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State and local government funds meant for the state were withheld by the federal government, people criticised former president Olusegun Obasanjo on the decision.
“So, in the 21st century, people were not expecting such judgment. It was a surprise to us, which is why we are saying that the Supreme Court should revisit the judgment.
“It has happened before and the Supreme Court reversed itself, so they can reverse themselves on the judgment and PANDEF has set up a committee for peace in the state.
“PANDEF is not taking sides; all we want is to reconcile the two sons of Niger Delta, who have disputes; Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The committee is working and they are already making some milestones in terms of achieving result.
“We are speaking to everybody in Rivers State to be calm while the leaders are working to ensure that the crisis is resolved,” he said.
Also speaking on the issue, Edmund Ebiware, an ex-agitator, said that “Nobody is going back to the Creek, we need peace.
“Those of us that tested the ground, we have seen how it is. We cannot continue on that path.
“Political issues should be handled politically not the other way. If you look at how the whole thing started, it was like a relationship between a master and his follower.
“It is not something that negative people should take advantage of and say that we want to cause unrest. They will come together and say that they want to cause unrest, we don’t need that.
“Some persons want to cause unrest with the crisis, but we are not going to encourage it.
“There is still room for negotiations. Negotiations are going on. That is the last resort, but we have a long period to negotiate and we are doing it.”
