By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA— A former governorship aspirant on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in Bayelsa State in 2011, Mr. Famous Daunemgha, has said the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, is the only authentic body the Federal Government should dialogue with on behalf of the entire people of the Niger Delta region.

Militants vs Buhari

Daunemgha, who spoke to Vanguard in Abuja, while reacting to the statement credited to the Presidency to the effect that it was looking for the militants to dialogue with them, advised the government not to search elsewhere for any militant if it was interested in the dialogue.

PANDEF is the umbrella body of traditional rulers, leaders and stakeholders of the coastal states of the Niger Delta region, which recently met and presented a 16- point demand to President Muhammadu Buhari on the way forward under the leadership of former Information Commissioner and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark.

Daunemgha, who is a member of PANDEF, argued that for the government to say it was looking for the militants to talk with would amount to a wild goose chase since it was the same militants that gave the PANDEF the authority to negotiate with the Federal Government and act on their behalf.

While expressing disappointment over the Federal Government’s delay and allowing the dialogue to spill into 2017, Daunemgha said, “Number one, I think the statement by Mr. President is political.

“The President is somebody I respect very much but I am a very frank man. The President should not dialogue with the militants, but with the people of the Niger Delta. The agitators are not agitating for themselves; they are agitating for the region. So, the President when he and his team are ready, should negotiate with the leadership and the people of the Niger Delta. So that impression needs to be cancelled immediately when he makes a statement that he is to negotiate with the Niger Delta militants.

“So he (Buhari) should know that the Niger Delta militants are still followers to elders and the leaders, pioneers agitators of the Niger Delta region. So that needs to be cleared, he is not to negotiate with the Niger Delta militants.”