Niger Delta Avengers wants Buhari to take a cue from Britain and call a referendum

MILITANT group the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to emulate British prime minister David Cameron and call a referendum on the status of the region.

 

Last week, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the European Union (EU) and by a majority of 52% to 48%, decided to leave the community. Following the result, Mr Cameron announced that he was stepping down, for which President Buhari has praised him, calling him a man of courage.

 

Now, the NDA are calling on President Buhari to take a cue from Mr Cameron and call for a referendum for Nigerians to decide if they want to stay as one country or not. Calling for a Sovereign State of the Niger Delta, the NDA asked President Buhari to ask Niger Deltans if they are interested in remaining within Nigeria.

 

An NDA spokesman said: “He should call for a referendum to enable every Nigerian to vote if they want to stay as Nigerians or not just like what David Cameron of Great Britain did. We want to display our currency, flag, passport, our ruling council and our territory to the world by October 16.”

 

However, some other Niger Delta groups believe that if President Buhari shores up the minister of state for petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, and his team spearheading the moves to stem the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, they would end his nightmare. Dr Kachikwu currently has a good rapport with the stakeholders and some of the militant groups that could pave the way for a lasting deal.