NIGER Delta militants have distanced themselves from President Muhammadu Buhari's recent parley with community elders across the region threatening all out war over the coming weeks as the meeting did not represent their concerns.
Last week, a host of leaders from the region met with President Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja under the aegis of the Pan Niger Delta Forum. During the meeting, they attributed the renewed militancy in the region to what they called alienation and lack of meaningful development of the region.
Among those present at the meeting were five state governors, traditional rulers and other stakeholders from the region. In a 10-page document presented to the president, the Niger Delta leaders called for inclusive participation in oil industry and ownership of oil blocs and for what they called host community content within the Nigerian content framework across the entire enterprise chain of the petroleum and maritime sectors.
However, militant youth leaders, have dismissed the gathering, warning the federal government not to rejoice yet over the recent rise in oil production in the country, threatening that a series of attacks await oil facilities in the region in the days ahead. They also asked the federal government to drop the charges against Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, and other leaders from the region.
Already, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, which is the only militant group that has refused to key into the ceasefire with the government, also claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombing of the Trans-Forcados Crude Export pipelines near Batan community in the Warri South West Council Area of Delta State. Its spokesperson, Aldo Agbalaja, accused President Buhari’s government of plotting to wage war against the people of the Niger Delta region.
He added: “As a matter of fact, what the Avengers did to the oil industry will be nothing compared to the grand plan already set by our central command. We shall bring Nigeria’s daily output quota to below 500,000 barrels, so just be ready for the approaching tsunami.
“The multinational oil companies, we know you are all recalcitrant and will always come to test wills, we hope you will continue in this tradition so there will always be reason to let the world know that you don’t contest the corners of a house with the owner of the house. The destruction of the Trans-Forcados Pipeline is just a warning and we warned against the restarting of the facility but the daring companies won’t listen."
Mr Agbalaja described last Tuesday’s meeting between Buhari and stakeholders, including traditional rulers from the region as a humiliation of the people of the Niger Delta. Similarly, leaders of the Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front, Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta and major players in the Niger Delta Avengers, said they were not a party to the 16-point demand presented by their leaders to President Buhari.
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