By Francis Sadhere
Ex-Niger Delta militants under the aegis of Coalition of Association of Ex-Agitators on Sunday March 22, 2015 endorsed the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari and the Delta State governorship candidate of the party, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, for the 2015 General elections, saying President Jonathan has failed the people of the Niger Delta region in particular and the nation in general.
Speaking during the endorsement at De Klass Hotel, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, the National President of the group, General Israel Apkodero said the ex-militants came to the decision haven realised that President Jonathan was only empowering his Ijaw brothers to the detriment of other ethnic nationalities in Niger Delta.
Akpodero said the the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta are the exclusive beneficiaries of the Federal Government amnesty programme and that the President only fooled the Urhobo Nation with a Ministerial appointment given to Chief Steven Oru few months to preparation for general elections so as to attract the votes of Delta Central. He labeled Dr. Jonathan as a tribal President who does not have the interest of the people of the Niger Delta, particularly the Urhobo ethnic nationality at heart.
The ex- Militant General said they were endorsing Buhari because of his pedigree and good track records as an upright focused leader with the right frame of mind to fight corruption that has brought the nation to her kneels, adding that the group’s decision is to express their bitterness and displeasure about the total neglect of the Urhobo Nation by the PDP government led by President Jonathan and to also fault the manner the Federal Government has been handling the amnesty programme since its inception till date.
He accused President Jonathan of refusing to absorb the third phase amnesty which would have benefited the youths of Delta Central, saying that the matter is now in court, and that they were ready to fight for what is rightfully theirs.
In response to the overwhelming endorsement, Emerhor commended the Ex-agitators for coming out to endorse him and General Buhari for the benefit of Nigerians and Deltans. He said Nigerian youths must stand up and defend democracy by saying no to all forms of electoral violence during the 2015 general elections.
The APC governorship candidate further asserted that once voted into power, his government will immediately declare emergency on unemployment in Delta state, which is why he promise to set aside ten billion naira within the first one hundredm days in office to cushion the effects of unemployment in the state.
Emerhor appealed to the ex-militants not to allow their endorsement to be in vain by taking the message of change to their respective domains and localities so as to achieve the major goal of rescuing Delta State from the PDP corrupt cabal who have taken Delta State sixteen years backward in terms of socio-economic development. He urged them to equip themselves with their PVCs and come out to vote and secure their votes on March 28 for the presidential elections and April 11 for the governorship elections.
He said the APC Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari has the will power and strength of character to find solutions to the numerous problems facing their country, pointing out that President Goodluck Jonathan had displayed substantial degree of incompetent such that Nigerians have come to the realization that his choice as President in 2011 was a big mistake that will not repeat itself in 2015 presidential elections.
Emerhor said President Jonathan and the PDP confused leaders failed the nation in diverse ways such that the ruling party collapsed the social and economic structures of Nigeria and that the APC and Buhari’s mission is to fix the country from 2015 and beyond.
