Dokubo Asari, a former Niger Delta militant has the issue of crude oil theft and illegal refining of crude with leave most people in the region suffering from one health condition to the other in a few years’ time.
Dokubo said that the people of the region are dying while the federal government does nothing.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV, he said that “We praised governor Nyesom Wike thinking he will finally do something about the problem but we didn’t know that it was all a show. The black soot is back. You can’t wear white clothes in Abonnema, Okrika and other places because of illegal crude oil refining”.
He said that security agencies are conniving with the oil thieves, adding that communities are not working with the oil thieves as speculated.
Speaking further, he slammed the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC for paying billions in pipeline security contracts to people who are not doing the job. He added that the region’s environment has been totally destroyed by pollution.
On cleaning up the environment, Dokubo said that the Ogoni clean up is an insult to the Niger Delta.
“Every part of the Niger Delta is polluted. If UNEP said that only Ogoni should be cleaned up, is it UNEP that will decide for Nigeria or just because others are not agitating for clean up as well?”
He said that government must be decisive and save the region from itself. He said that the pollution caused by oil companies is about 20 per cent while 80 per cent is caused by Niger delta people.
Dokubo advised the FG to stop giving security contracts to phoney Israeli companies that do not understand the terrain. He said that some trunk lines have not produced one drop of crude in the last five years.
On zoning presidency to the South, he said zoning is practised in every pluralistic society.
According to him: “It is so disheartening that Southern leaders cannot come out to argue boldly for the presidency to be zoned to the south. They don’t have balls. They are chickening out because of their fears of their Northern counterparts”.
Speaking further on zoning, he said: “Why should someone from the South West and South-South come out and contest? Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan have been there. If it’s coming to the south, the first people to be offered it is the South-East”.
Speaking on the qualities of the candidates, he said that the only person that has pedigree is Bola Tinubu but he is sick, old and weak. Governors from other states that did nothing are coming out”.
When reminded that Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike is in the race, Dokubo asked: “Does Wike want to be president? It’s very laughable that someone like Wike wants to run for the presidency. Does Wike look like a president” Should we get a president like that? Somebody carrying cutlass up and down should be our president?
On Atiku Abubakar, he said Northerners have no business contesting but said that of all the people that have come out, only Atiku has capacity.
“He set up an economic team that gave Nigeria the best economic plan. All the people that did wonders, Atiku brought them. My candidates are Tinubu, Jackrich Tein and Atiku.
On Peter Obi, he said that Obi did nothing as governor of Anambra state despite the huge resources from Onitsha and Nnewi, adding that he dug only boreholes and constructed roads which are nothing.
Also speaking on the candidacy of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Dokubo said that Amaechi while he was governor budgeted $3 billion every year but Port Harcourt has remained a village and a slump.
