4:30:00 pm
yesterday, blowing
up Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, pipeline at Eleme,
Rivers State, President Muhammadu Buhari insisted that Nigeria’s unity
was not negotiable.
He also warned looters of the nation’s treasury to return their loot for peace
to reign, saying government would continue to ask for the funds until
they were eventually returned.
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| Niger Delta Avengers |
negotiating with fraudsters, distancing itself from recent violent
attacks in the South-West.
President Buhari, who gave the warning while receiving a cross
section of Nigerians, most of whom were Muslims, in his official residence
located within the Presidential Villa, Abuja to pay him sallah homage,
recalled the famous quote of former Head of State, General Yakubu
Gowon, on the indivisibility of Nigeria.
According to him, the task of keeping Nigeria as one united entity is a task
that must be done. He said: “We have to concentrate on the militants to
try to know how many of them, in terms of groupings, try to
get in touch with their leadership to try to persuade them to please give
Nigeria a chance.
“I assure them that when we were very junior officers, we were told by
our leaders, by the Head of State, who was Gen. Gowon, that to keep Nigeria
one is a task that must be done...we never thought of oil.
“What we were after is one Nigeria.
Please, pass the message to the militants that one Nigeria is not
negotiable. And I pray they better accept it. The constitution is very clear
as to what they should get and I assure them there would be justice.
“Please persuade those who have plenty of money that do not belong to
them to try and negotiate, return it in peace so that both them and us will
be in peace, otherwise we will continue to request.”
Hunger in the land Noting that there was hunger in the land, the President
expressed optimism that the country would soon
start feeding itself as the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, the Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and 13 states were working hard to ensure that
Nigeria achieved self- sufficiency in the production of rice.
He said the programme had reinvigorated confidence in many
farmers, who had already returned to the field. Mess of the past
administration In his remarks, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo noted
that the last one year of the administration was dedicated
to cleaning the “mess of the past administration.
” He, however, expressed hope that Nigeria would be placed on a sound
footing in the months ahead, even as he prayed God to give President
Buhari the wisdom and strength to continue to work for the country.
Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello, who led a delegation of most FCT
residents, prayed for good health and God’s guidance on behalf of the
President. Those who attended the sallah homage included Secretary to the
Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; Primate of the Church
of Nigerian (Anglican Communion), Nicholas Okoh; Acting Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; Chief of
Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Babagana
Mongunu; Acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. Others included Chairman,
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), FCT Chapter, Israel Akanji and Dr. Kabir
Adam of the National Mosque, Abuja. Avengers bombs NNPC pipeline in
Eleme Meanwhile, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, yesterday, shifted its hostilities
from Delta to Rivers State, blowing up NNPC pipeline at Eleme leading to the
Nigeria Liquefied National Gas, NLNG in the state, saying government
was negotiating with fraudsters.
The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying on
its Facebook page, NDavengers: “By 3.00 am, yesterday, strike team 2
carried out a major strike, bombing NNPC pipeline at Eleme, leading to NLNG.
You won’t stop us.” The Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, JNDLF, also yesterday,
threatened to set seven flow stations ablaze in Bayelsa State.
This is as Egbesu Boys of Niger Delta, a militant group, said the ongoing
warfare in the Niger Delta was an Ijaw fight for self-determination and
not Niger Delta struggle as generally assumed by many. Before the Rivers attack,
NDA daringlyposted at about 8.12 pm on its Facebook page:
“Another major pipeabout to go up in flames! Brass, LNG,
Boom.” The group said any attack by the Nigerian Army might result in human
casualties, stressing that it wouldn’t want to take life, hence it was not
daring the Army. "For every life you take, we take two.
We have our reason, we play cool, we are ready, and we must cripple the
economy. Boom, Share,” the group added. Govt negotiating with fraudsters
On negotiation, the NDA spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, said:
"We, the Niger Delta Avengers, have not negotiated with anyone.
If they (Federal Government) have been negotiating with anybody,
it clearly shows they had been negotiating with fraudsters.’’ We’re fighting Ijaw,
not N-Delta struggle —Militant group The Reformed Egbesu Boys in a
statement by the General Officer Commanding, GOC, Intelligence, self-
styled General Tony Alagbakereowei, said: “We wish to state that the
current crisis is purely and truly an Ijaw self-determination quest
involving grievous issues, which predate the current administration.
The militant group said: “As a matter of fact, we wish to state that the
crisis is centred around Ijaw communities in the western flank and
central axis, including Gbaramatu communities in Warri South-West Local
Government; parts of Ogbe Ijoh communities in Warri South West
Local Government; parts of Egbema in Warri North Local Government; and
Ogulagha kingdom (Forcados Terminal) in Burutu Local Aovernment.
"Others are Brass and Nembe Ijaw communities in Bayelsa State. These
are exclusively Ijaw territorial communities and boundaries within
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In this connection, we wish to state that any other group or group of
persons outside these properly identified Ijaw areas masquerading
as negotiators are only deceiving themselves and the Federal Government.
“In this wise, we wish to alert the Federal Government, particularly the
Minister of Defence, Secretary to the Government of the Federation,
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Director-General, Department
of State Services, that the purported MEND negotiators are not
known to the Ijaw nation and they do not have our mandate in this subject
matter.
“In fact, the so-called Niger Delta is synonymous with the Ijaw nation- the
historical and traditional home of the Ijaws in Nigeria and the Diaspora.
This does not exclude the fact that there are other minor ethnic groupings,
but we have always played the role of big brother to them. “Consequently,
we will not allow meddlesome interlopers and our traditional antagonists, who have
always constituted cogs in the wheel of progress to the Ijaw nation to take
credit for our sorrow, tears and blood.
“The Federal Government allowed miscreants and meddlesome
interlopers seeking relevance in Abuja to gain pipeline contracts and
appointments to deceive key actors of the government.
“We are terribly angered by the antics of Ayiri Emami, we wish to call the
Itsekiri Leaders of Thought and their monarch to call him to order as we
are watching his excesses.
We are serious." On the call for dialogue by the Federal
Government, Egbesu Boys said the claim by the Secretary to the Federal
Government that government could not trust and negotiate with militants
in the region because they were too numerous with no clear leadership,
was not only preposterous but smacked of a predetermined mindset.
However, it said there was some truth in the SGF’s claim, adding that to
resolve contentious issues, government should address the
Nigerian Maritime University, NMU, Okerenkoko, issue and explore
political solution in the case of ex-militant leader, Government
Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.
Group's demands The militant group demanded, among other things,
increase of derivation to 50 per cent and payment of the 50 per
cent derivation fund directly to the host communities through
appropriate structures and renegotiation of oil blocks’ allocation
in the ratio of 60-40 per cent in favour of Ijaw nation and other
interest groups.
It called for the creation of Niger Delta Development Bank to fast
track regional development, oil majors, including SPDC, Agip, CNL,
ExxonMobil, PTDF, NNPC and NPDC to create 6,000 jobs for the
youths of the six states of the Niger Delta, release of all detained persons
in connection with the crisis and dropping of all charges connected there with.
JNDLF threatens to destroy 7 flow stations The Joint Niger Delta Liberation
Force, NDLF, in a statement by the Commander, General Duties, Akotebe
Darikoro, said: “The oil and gas pipeline running from Ogboinbiri in
Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to Obrinkon in
Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, is to be finally cut off
from transmission.
"The flow stations of Ogboinbiri, Oporoma, Peremabiri, Tabidaba,
Nembe, Brass, Chevron platform in Koluama, Okordia-Zarama and Biseni,
including Gbarain-Ubie gas gathering plant, are to be set ablaze since the oil
companies are a major hindrance to the development of the region.
“We further warned those staying around and within to please leave
those areas because our mission is to cripple the economy of the country
and not to kill any human being on earth.
“The Nigerian security, which claims to be securing the oil facilities in the
region, should stay in their dwelling places and see whether their safety
will be guaranteed on those days.
“We thank the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources for the bold
steps he personally took to resolve the injustice created and sponsored by
the wicked companies and government in Nigeria.
"The initiative he took has been relegated to the background by the
self-acclaimed Minister of Petroleum Resources, Muhammadu Buhari, who
has no knowledge about the suffering of the people in the Niger Delta,
but only with a mission to milk the region and pay deaf ears to the plight of the
region.
“Our struggle is beyond monetary gains and we cannot be bribed by the
Nigerian government to the detriment of our suffering people and
the struggle is unstoppable until justice is done to the region.
“Our field commanders have been instructed on what to do and those
who are on standby in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Delta and Cross River are
to wait after Bayelsa State operations.
“We further warn that, henceforth, if any attack is launched on Ijaw
communities or person(s) by the military or para-military body in the
region, we will not hesitate to order our shoot-on-sight squad to attack
any uniform personnel in the region.
“For the records, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, are not in Delta State,
we only go there to strike and return safely to the struggle base in Bayelsa
State.” Warns Dickson on workers salaries The militant group also warned the
governor of Bayelsa State to pay the salaries of workers.
It stated: “We are warning Governor Henry Dickson of Bayelsa State to,
without further delay, commence final payment of all workers,
including the old pensioners, being owed several months of salary.
“Dickson is to pay these workers pensioners in full and not 50 per cent
or half of their legitimate salaries. He will not lay claim to no funds to pay
them, the funds are with him, based on the allocations he received from
the federation account known to the people.
“No fund but the government is busy doing projects and erecting personal
buildings within and outside the state, while these workers are dying
in abject poverty in the state.
"This is unacceptable and it must stop forthwith in the region because our
parents, brothers and sisters are not to suffer unnecessarily simply because
they work for government.
“Enough is enough, he should go and bring money from wherever he is keeping it,
and fully pay these workers and pensioners before the end of this month.
“His mother, who is over 70 years, is a staff and still drawing salaries from
Sagbama Local Government council.
What type of injustice is this?"