The presidency has apologized for the absence of its representatives from a meeting of South-South stakeholders.
The meeting scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday was fixed by the Federal Government to bring Governors and other leaders of the region to discuss burning national issues affecting the region and the aftermath effects of #EndSARS protest.
The Federal Government delegation was supposed to include all the Ministers from the geopolitical zone and other persons.
However, the delegates of the Federal Government didn’t show up, a development which made Governors and leaders of the South-South region demand an unreserved apology from the Presidency.
Responding, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu issued a statement regretting the absence of the presidency representatives from the meeting.
The statement which attributed the development to an emergency meeting of the National Security Council held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on the same day, noted that a new date for the meeting would be fixed after due consultations.
The statement read, “The Presidency wishes to explain that the absence of the Federal Government delegation at the planned meeting with governors and stakeholders of the South-South region was necessitated by an emergency security meeting summoned by the President, certainly not out of disrespect.
“The delegation to the meeting, under the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, ministers and heads of security and intelligence agencies were in full readiness to proceed to Port Harcourt until they were directed to stay back for the emergency security meeting.
“This information and regret for the inconvenience caused were conveyed to the hosts of the meeting through what we believed were the right channels.
“As may have been gleaned from the statement read by the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, the extraordinary National Security Council meeting, under the President, was called in view of the gravity of the security situation affecting all parts of the country, including the South-South in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, and the need to rise to protect our national security and territorial integrity.
“The President is strongly and resolutely committed to hearing from leaders, stakeholders and our youth on burning issues affecting all parts of the federation, and to this effect, a new date for the meeting with the South-South will be agreed after due consultations with the parties concerned.
“Once again, the unavoidable postponement of the meeting is regretted.”
