Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, yesterday, served a fresh warning to the
Federal Government that it would resume bombing of oil facilities if
government made any further mistake to enter into negotiation with
selfish leaders in the region that represented themselves instead of the
interest of the people.
This came as Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta,
MEND, endorsed the October 31 meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari
and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, aimed at finding solutions to
the current Niger Delta crisis.
But a group, Urhobo Common Cause, UCC, in Delta State, led by Henry
Obukohwo Tafri, rejected the representation of PANDEF, led by the former
Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, saying it was
concerned about alleged “internal colonialism perpetrated by the
leadership of Chief Clark.” Niger Delta militant
The Avengers in a statement accused some unnamed selfish but
vociferous Niger Delta leaders and groups of appropriating the overall
interest of the region to themselves and cronies while the majority
wallow in penury.
A spokesman for the NDA, who gave his name as Col. Rightman Hudson
Opukurowari, warned that any attempt by the government to engage in any
form of dialogue with Niger Delta leaders who had allegedly hijacked the
commonwealth of the people for their selfish interest, would be
resisted.
Opukurowari said: “Since we had agreed to suspend bombing oil
facilities and enter into genuine dialogue with the government, the
administration has not shown any seriousness in talking to the right set
of people to move the peace process forward. Two months after the
ceasefire, it has become clear to the world that this government has not
been sincere and serious in meeting the simple demands of the people to
put in place a concrete plan of transforming the landscape and giving
us any sense of hope despite our critical contribution to the
commonwealth of the nation.
“From the way the government is going after we had suspended
bombings, it is clear to the world that the Federal Government is not
ready to make peace with us as earlier promised and we are under
pressure to resume our attacks. It is obvious that the Muhammadu Buhari
administration has rather chosen to be nonchalant to the dialogue and
has deliberately decided to invite only their political friends for a
dinner in the name of dialogue, by their own selective measures, thereby
ignoring the chance for real peace and dialogue with the appropriate
persons and groups.
“The Government is trying to avoid a holistic approach to addressing
the real issues affecting us and finding solutions to them but merely
taking time off to engage those we see as “Niger Delta Vultures” sitting
in Abuja with their sponsors, taking credit for our genuine agitations.
We have watched and observed that with the body language of the
President and the composition of the so-called dialogue group, no
meaningful solution will be proffered unless the government invites all
concerned and genuine individuals and groups for the purpose of finding a
lasting solution to the crisis in the region.
“We hereby warn that any action taken by the government to provoke us
to resume hostilities would be more brutal than before until we enter
the promised land.
“We are concerned because these same persons invited for the
scheduled dialogue have become Federal Government dialogue contractors
and they do not represent the interest of the generality of the people.” MEND backs dialogue
Throwing its support to the planned dialogue, MEND, in a statement by
its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, said: “The forthcoming meeting vindicates
MEND and Federal Government’s continued insistence and belief, ab initio,
that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari meant well for
the sustainable peace and development of the hitherto neglected Niger
Delta region. MEND reiterates that we were the first and only militant
group in the Niger Delta region who were meaningfully and constructively
engaged in talks with the Federal Government with a view to resolving
the Niger Delta crisis; as duly confirmed by no less a person than
President Buhari sometime in July, 2016 in his farewell remarks to the
outgoing German Ambassador, Mr. Michael Zinner. His Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, later confirmed
our claim when he informed the media that the Presidency was “waiting to
receive the final agreement.”
The group, among others, said: “We urge members of the Chief Edwin
Clark-led PANDEF to put aside personal interests and ambitions of
primitive aggrandizement. Rather, we implore them to realize that the
Niger Delta region is at a zebra crossing and, therefore, they must
remain steadfast and focused on their core mandate, to wit: restoration
of sustainable and permanent peace and development of the region.”
However, the UCC in a statement, said: “We, the Urhobo people,
reject completely the list of the Central Working Committee (CWC) Chief
E.K Clark forwarded to the presidency as representatives of South-South
ethnic nationalities. The list forwarded to the Nigeria President does
not represent the true population of the ethnic nationalities in the
South-South, and furthermore, the membership of the committee did not
take into consideration the economic contribution of the various ethnic
nationalities to common national purse.”
In another development, NDA, weekend, said no amount of military
action would stop it from halting the flow of the oil from the region to
sustain Nigeria.
This came as it declared that the group owed no authority, tribe or
political group any apology for its agitations for true federalism,
saying it was the duty of the central government to manage them, rather
than overheating the system with fierce responses.
The militant group in a statement by its spokesperson, self-styled
Brigadier-General Mudoch Agbinibo, said: “It is disgusting for President
Muhammadu Buhari and his tribesmen to equate the revenue priorities of
the Niger Delta region with regional comparisons of development in
Nigeria. For crying out loud, since 1914 our resources have been the
essence of this union called Nigeria before crude oil was discovered.
The amalgamation of southern and northern Nigeria was for administrative
convenience because the north was not viable economically. The idea of
bundling through bills like North East/West Development Commission is
fraud, hypocrisy and bigotry by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should think like a leader with the
advantage of his age to see the genuine and legitimate agitation with
the right attitude to pacify our people. We have been raped for too
long, General Muhammadu Buhari should face the reality of the Niger
Delta question. He can stop listening to ideas and advice of the
agitation as political system support structure that his tribal warlords
and conflict merchants have hypnotized him to believe as the face of
the Niger Delta struggle. Niger Delta is part of Nigeria federation that
he governs, since he is the president, he will always need the
cooperation of our people to share or allocate our resources to other
component units,” the group said.
According to NDA: “The daylight robbery and allocation of proceeds of
our natural resources must stop. When he was the chairman of Petroleum
Trust Fund, PTF, as General Sani Abacha henchman, he exhibited this
bigotry by focusing attention to his region, which he never pretended
about by emphasizing 97 per cent versus 5 per cent development and
appointment structure that he has exhibited again in his fifth coming in
national affairs. He never pretended to be ethnic and religious bigot;
the only things he pretends about are his roles in the underdevelopment
of the Niger Delta and Nigeria in the over three decades he has being in
government – 1976, 1978, 1983/4, 1993/98 and now.
“He also pretends over the deliberate politicization of the Niger
Delta struggle by those tribesmen and conflict merchants he has
abdicated the responsibilities of governing Nigeria to since May 2015.
He has forgotten that on his assumption of office, peace has been
sustained in the region not through political party and structure
support approach but the involvement of genuine stakeholders and the
people of the region. If Mr. President will come down from that his
ethnic iron-horse to engage in discussion with our people on October or
any date he likes, the issues are not new. We want to control our
resources and pay appropriate taxation to the central government that is
fiscal federalism in practice and in principles.”
“ The government, representatives of the multinational oil
corporations, neutral international observers and elders as well as
stakeholders should guide themselves with the following documents: the
Sir Henry Willinks Commission Report of 1958, The Ogoni Bill of Rights,
The Kaiama Declaration document of the Ijaw Youth Council, The General
Alexander Ogomudia Committee Report, The Niger Delta Technical Committee
Report which contains the Pre- amnesty issues and agreement with the
government of Nigeria in 2009.
“Then, the framework can be drawn for achieving the short, medium and
long term objectives toward the restoration of our land and reparation
for the people that have been raped and colonized since 1914,” the
Avengers asserted. They declared: “No amount of military action and
surge will stop us from halting the flow of the oil from our land to
sustain Nigeria. This is our land that we are the masters of its
battlefields. We have warned earlier that we want the “peace with
honour, no more peace of our time”. Any meeting with this government
should be seen as driving a combustible vehicle laden with fire to
safety; it must be driven with carefulness,” they said/
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