Worried by the crisis bedeviling Rivers State, former Heads of State, Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar are preparing to hold a strategic meeting with some governors to explore ways to resolving it.
The strategic meeting is scheduled to hold today at the Presidential Lodge of Niger State, located behind the Government House.
The governors expected at the meeting include Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamid0 (Jigawa) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto State is said to have confirmed his intention to attend the meeting.
Curiously enough, the man in the eye of the storm, Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, will not be able to make it, as he told the organizers late on Sunday that he would be out of the country.
It was learnt that Niger State governor, Dr Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu, the initiator of the meeting, had approached the two leaders to intervene in the simmering crisis in Rivers and appealed that either of them host the meeting.
But it was gathered that neither of the former leaders was ready to host the meeting in his private residence, as a result of what was called the need to avoid the prying eyes of the media.
The governors of Kano, Jigawa, Adamawa and Niger had, on Saturday, visited former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at his Hilltop mansion, Abeokuta, for consultations on the 2015 election.
A source in the know said though the Minna meeting was originally meant to allow Amaechi to state his side of the story, his absence would not truncate the meeting, as it would help the leaders to map out strategies on how to curtail the crisis in the state.
“It has been reliably confirmed that the governor of Niger State, Dr Aliyu, will, on Monday, host a strategic meeting of some bigwigs on the Rivers crisis.
“The meeting, scheduled for Monday, July 22, will hold at the Presidential Lodge of Niger State Government House and I can confirm to you that those expected at the meeting include Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami Abubakar and the governors of Rivers, Kano, Adamawa, Sokoto and Jigawa states,” the source said.
Another source stated that the Presidential lodge was arrived at because of its closeness to the Government House and the fact that the two former leaders refused to host the meeting.
“The two former heads of state actually declined to host the meeting in their respective residences because of what was called the need to avoid the prying eyes of the press and speculation thereafter,” the source said.
It was also gathered that besides the Rivers crisis, the meeting would also discuss the 2015 calculations, as well as figure out some possibilities.
“The meeting is partly to discuss the festering political crisis in Rivers State, as well as the emerging scenario and political developments on the road to 2015,” the source added.
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