Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Bala Mohammed, led his colleagues to meet with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the political situation in Rivers State.
Mohammed attended the meeting with Governors Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, and Kefas Agbu of Taraba.
The governors agreed on the mediation meeting with Wike following their meeting on Tuesday night.
The Forum decided to meet with the FCT minister in order to resolve differences between him and his successor in Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The FCT minister’s reconciliation with the PDP is also on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, as the minister looked to be at odds with the party following the fallout from the 2023 Convention, which produced Atiku Abubakar as the party’s nominee for the February 2023 presidential election.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
