The presidential campaign support group for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Mr Peter Obi, Team Niger Delta for Atiku and Obi, has appealed to Niger Delta militant groups not to call off their ceasefire agreement with the Federal Government as reported in the media on December 31, 2018.
The group in a statement by National Coordinator, Team Niger Delta for Atiku and Obi, Chief Chris Biose, specifically called on Niger Delta Creek Warriors, Ogunuma Camp of Niger Delta, Niger Delta Republic Seekers and Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders to maintain the existing peace.
The group noted that though the Federal Government had not kept to its promise of sustainable development of the Niger Delta region, there was the need to shun hostilities and violence ahead of the 2019 polls.
He said: “The claim of the militant groups that the Federal Government failed to take action to address the humble demands of our people made through the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, cannot be faulted.
“However, we strongly appeal to the militants to consider alternative mechanisms to address the issue.
“We are convinced beyond doubt that it is futile for the Niger Delta to expect any good from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
” There was no need for PANDEF to take a list of demands to Buhari in the first place.
“When he became the 5th military dictator of Nigeria on December 31, 1983, he reduced the amount of derivation funds paid to oil producing states from five percent to a paltry 1.5 percent and left the off-shore oil revenues to the Federal Government.
“When he became civilian President in May 2015, he threatened to treat patriotic Niger Delta agitators as Boko Haram terrorists. He has since instituted a reign of brutal repression of Niger Deltans and ignored legitimate agitation for political and economic justice in the country.”
Biose further called on the youths to embrace the current democratic window for change in the Niger Delta, not because they were cowards but because it would be more cost-effective in producing the desired result.
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