Niger Delta Republic Fighters, a group agitating for the independence of the Niger Delta region has failed to declare for independence weeks after it threatened to do so.
The group in a statement on May 20 had asked all oil companies and multinationals operating in the region to vacate from May 29, 2019.
The group said the order became necessary as it plans to declare the Niger Delta Republic on the 1st of June, 2019.
The group in a statement by Maxwell Dan and made available to theportcitynews said: “After several months of consultations within and outside the shores of Nigeria on the collective wellbeing of the Niger Delta people in the Nigerian state, coupled with cruel persecution and selective maltreatment of the Niger Delta sons and daughters by Nigerian government over the years especially by the present administration of Muhamadu Buhari and his agents despite the huge contribution of the Niger Delta people to the sustenance of Nigeria.
“We, therefore, take solace in the word of our patriarch – Isaac Boro, which states “…Today is a great day, not only in your lives but also in the history of the Niger Delta. Perhaps, it will be the greatest day for a very long time.
“This is not because we are going to bring the heavens down, but because we are going to demonstrate to the world what and how we feel about oppression. Remember your 70-year-old grandmother who still farms before she eats; remember also your poverty-stricken people; remember, too, your petroleum which is being pumped out daily from your veins; and then fight for your freedom.” It is quite unfortunate that the story has not changed till today, and we are standing on that declaration, we are standing on the declaration of the sovereign state of Niger Delta and we will declare ‘NIGER DELTA REPUBLIC’ on June 1st, 2019″
However, checks by theportcitynews.com reveal that a day after June 1, the group has not yet declared the independence of the Niger Delta region.
The development which drew sharp criticism on social media had some users accusing the group of being settled by politicians.
Niger Delta continues to suffer unimaginable humanitarian disaster despite its huge oil reserve which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.
The region was plagued by arm struggle for years over the environmental damage wrath the region by oil companies operating in the region.
