Lawmakers in Delta State have joined the voices of other Niger Delta people in criticising the appointment of former United Nations� envoy, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, as the chairman of the proposed Niger Delta Summit.
They faulted the appointment on the grounds that Gambari was alleged to have openly supported the execution of the Ogoni activist and celebrated writer, Mr. Kenule Saro-Wiwa.
In separate interviews with our correspondent in Asaba on Wednesday, the Deputy-Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Basil Ganagana, and the Deputy-Majority Leader, Mr. Ben Igbakpa asked President Umaru Yar�Adua to tread with caution by considering the voices of the vast majority of Niger Deltans who were against Gambari�s appointment.
They opined that the summit was not necessary as the idea of holding such events had been over-flogged without proffering practical solutions to the developmental problems of the region.
In a related development, Gambari will �soon� consult with President Yar�Adua on the criticisms trailing his appointment.
�In the light of the development, I intend to have consultations with President Umaru Yar�Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan on the next steps,�� he said on Wednesday in New York.
Gambari, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria at his UN office, said that the meeting became necessary to address issues at stake and to move the summit forward.
The UN special adviser also said he would hold �deep and wide�� consultations with all stakeholders in the Niger Delta to douse misconceptions about his personality.
Also, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Reginald Dombraye, and a member of the Delta State Waterways Security Committee, Mr. Dennis Otuaro, on Wednesday opposed the proposed Niger Delta Summit.
Specifically, Dombraye and Otuaro dismissed the summit as a mere jamboree and rejected the choice of Gambari to chair it.
Dombraye and Otuaro, in separate interviews with our correspondent, said the summit was unnecessary, time and resource-wasting and ill-advised, adding that it would yield no dividend.
Meanwhile, the Civil Liberties Organisation, on Wednesday, described the Federal Government�s military option against restiveness in the Niger Delta as inappropriate, calling the President�s directive an attack on defenceless citizens.
Yar�Adua, in the wake of recent militant attacks on the Shell Petroleum Development Company�s Bonga Oil platform, with a daily yield of 200, 000 barrels of oil per day, had directed the military to put an end to such attacks.
CLO made its position known during a press conference in Lagos.
It said, �As you will recall, the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Alhaji Umaru Yar�Adua, a few weeks ago, ordered the deployment of military might in the Niger Delta region in an attempt to track down or dislodge the ethnic activists who have been crying for justice in their fatherland for decades.
�So far, in total compliance with the presidential directive, the military formation has put actions in motion to implement the order of Mr. President.�
In another development, the Transition Monitoring Group has faulted the Federal Government over the choice of Gambari.
In an electronic e-mail on Wednesday, the Chairman of TMG, Mr. Mashood Erubami, said that Gambari was the most �inappropriate person� to head the summit.