Two groups with divergent views on Thursday clashed during a televised town hall meeting designed to seek solutions to the ongoing political dispute in the state.

The meeting hosted by the News Central TV in Port Harcourt was part of efforts by stakeholders to address the crisis.

But the two groups differed sharply on the ongoing state of emergency in the state.

The programme for the first time brought together community leaders, stakeholders, and concerned citizens to discuss issues bordering on suspension of elected leadership, pipeline vandalism and the effect of the crisis on the state.

But participants expressed divergent views on how to address the state’s challenges.

The first major dispute arose when Kemwel Ibinabo commented on the alleged influence exerted by former Governor Nyesom Wike.

His comment caused heated arguments and interruptions underscoring the political divide in the state compelling organisers of the event and security agents to step in to calm frayed nerves.

The chairperson of the Rivers Labour Party, Hilda Dokubo, spoke on godfatherism, saying it was impossible to have a governor while another individual effectively controlled power behind the scenes.

Igo Aguma, a prominent politician in the state, criticised persons he referred to as crisis merchants profiting from unrest while claiming to seek peace.

He urged such actors to step aside and allow the governor and his predecessor to resolve their differences peacefully.

Aguma said that some elements opposed to the state’s progress were behind the ongoing problems but expressed the optimism that the main parties would find a solution.

On his part, elder statesman and pioneer spokesman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, suggested that the rift between the suspended Governor and his predecessor could be settled privately.

Sara-Igbe called on elder statesmen to mediate, lamenting that the state’s economy was suffering.

He called for peace, warning that the continued unrest in the state would harm everyone. (The Nation)