Edo, Cross River absent as South South Governors meet Buhari

Four governors from the South South geo-political zone elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday held a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Villa, Abuja.

The State Governors: Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Serieke Dickson (Bayelsa); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta) and Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom).

But Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Cross River State counterpart, Prof. Ben Ayade, did not attend the meeting.

An inside source told our correspondent that the meeting may not be unconnected with the Paris Club Refund of some few states withheld and 2019 general elections.

Speaking to State House correspondents shortly after meeting, Governor Dickson said that the governors came to have an audience with Buhari on issues of national concern.

He said, “My colleagues and I came to have audience with the President to discuss issues pertinent to our country and pertinent to our respective states.

“We had a robust and fruitful discussion with the President and he promised to look into it in anyway possible.”

When asked on the specific areas they discussed with the President, Governor Dickson simply said, “We don’t want to go into those details.”

The Daily Times recalls that in September 2018, the Federal Government ordered the revised payment of the second tranche of the Paris Club refund to five states – Rivers, Delta, Imo, Benue and Osun because they could not meet the underlined condition which is basically for payment of salaries and pensions.

The Daily Times also recalls that these state governors who held a closed door meeting with the President had alleged that they were being intimidated and harassed by the opposition party in their respective states to use “the federal might” to kick them out of office.