INSECURITY: GROUP URGES RETIRED GENERALS TO JOIN FORCES WITH JONATHAN TO FIGHT TERRORISM, WARNS NORTHERN LEADERS AGAINST PLOT TO STOP PRESIDENT IN 2015

By Our Correspondent,

THE Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC) has urged retired Army Generals from the North to join forces with President Goodluck Jonathan to fight terrorism, making it known clearly to the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Northern Governors and ex-military Generals from the North that they cannot stop the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

In a press release signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley, the group called on the North to forget the Presidency till 2027 and vowed to cut oil supply to the North should leaders from the region continued to oppose the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015 and using Boko Haram to cause mayhem, especially in the Northern part of the country.

The press release reads; “We want the Sultan of Sokoto to know that we are aware of his game plans with some Governors and ex-military Generals from the North to frustrate the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015. We want the Sultan of Sokoto and his co-travellers to take this as a warning that we will resist any attempt by them to stop the President in 2015.”

“We are not begging the Sultan of Sokoto, Northern Governors, ex-military Generals and other leaders from the region to allow the President contest in 2015, the issue of the re-election bid of President Jonathan in 2015 is sealed, signed and delivered by God. Nobody can stop the moving train of the re-election of the President. The plan by the North to use Boko Haram to frustrate President Jonathan will continue to fail; we have also seen how the enemies of the President are now using the Governors of the North to destabilize the administration of the President and they will not succeed in this their evil mission,” the group stated.

According to the group also, “We are aware of the desperation of the North to take over power in 2015, but they have to wait till 2027. After the tenure of President Jonathan in 2019, power will shift to the East till 2027 and so the North should perish their Presidential ambition till 2027, we are serious about this and that is the way it must be.”

“This is a clarion call on former military President, General Ibrahim Babaginda (rtd), former military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari and other top retired Army Generals from the North to join forces with President Goodluck Jonathan to fight terrorism. We want to say it again that the security challenges in the northern part of the country demand that all Nigerians unite to address the problem. Our retired army Generals in the North, all the traditional rulers in the North, the northern Governors and other leaders and elders must see to the end of terrorism in the Northern part of the country and give President Jonathan the needed atmosphere to transform the country,” the group stated.

NDIMRC urged Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State to be reasonable and support President Jonathan, rather than allowing himself to be used by those from the North to stop the President in 2015.

The group did not also spare those who have continued to root for the sack of the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke, warning them to halt their action against the patriotic Petroleum Minister.

According to the group, “The Petroleum Minister is doing a great job for our country and she should be encouraged to do more. But we want to sound a note of warning here that those doing everything to frustrate the Minister to desist from such act. The Minister is good and the President will continue to retain her even till 2019. The President has been able to carry all parts of the country along. In the past when those from the North were in-charge, the Petroleum Minister and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC came from the North; but the President who is very transparent has changed all that. If we are pushed too far, we will cut oil supply to the North and ensure that the positions of Petroleum Minister and GMD of NNPC are retained by people from the South-South region because for too long, we have tolerated the insensitive of the North to the plight of the people from the oil-rich Niger Delta region and we are saying enough is enough.”

“The Petroleum Minister as a good daughter of the Niger Delta region is spending the resources from the oil-rich region prudently in the oil and gas sector, unlike General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd) and others from the North who are controlling oil blocs of the Niger Delta region and do not know what to do with the money at a time when the people from the region are living in abject poverty. The time has also come for the Petroleum Minister to allocate more oil blocs to people from the Niger Delta region because the oil belongs to them and God never made mistake of blessing the Niger Delta people with oil,” the group stated.

The group also expressed dismay over treatment being given to people of the Niger Delta region by the oil majors such as Exxon-Mobil, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Total Nigeria.

The group wrote “We are warning these oil companies who are not employing people from the Niger Delta Region and at the same time not patronizing local contractors to wake up now and do the right thing as we will not hesitate to come to them soon in full force. Therefore, they should promote Niger Delta people who are working but have not been promoted for many years now. They should equally dole out contracts to our local contractors because the Local Content Act spelt it out clearly that they must patronize local contractors and they cannot afford to honour this provision in the Act, they should stop the frustration of local contractors from the oil-rich Niger Delta region.”