Jesse Ese, Yenagoa
Ex-freedom fighters from the Niger Delta have called on the Boko Haram group to accept amnesty and work towards the transformation of the country.
They also called on political leaders who are behind the insecurity in the North to accept peace in order to pave way for development.
This call was made last Saturday in Yenagoa by the leaders of the first phase of amnesty in the Niger Delta under the platform of Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, an NGO that advocates for conciliation and peace in the country.
Speaking to pressmen about the plans in 2015, the President of the body, Mr. Reuben C. Wilson, aka ex-general Pastor, stated that the core objective of the body is to work towards the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He also said that the election of Jonathan as President was divine and not man made effort because he didn’t struggle for it.
His words, “President Jonathan is ordained by God and no one can fight against who God has ordained.”
Mr. Reuben Wilson also stated that (with Jonathan as president) the Niger Delta has gotten emancipation to some extent even though some of the amnesty promises have not been fulfilled.
Mr. Reuben disclosed that the president is working but the Boko Haram insurgency is posing a lot of distractions to him because he is also concerned about the well being of the northerners even though he is from the south.
He called on those behind the menace that they should not forget that the Niger Delta region which they have neglected is where the nation gets its revenue from, adding that they should allow Jonathan to complete his eight years.
He reminded them of how they all worked for the election of Late President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, who was from the north. He added that they laid down their arms when the late president called for it, and want them to put aside discrimination and accept peace and work with
President Jonathan.
He also said that the south cannot forsake the position of president for vice president, that Governor Amaechi should not be used to distract the president, adding that president Jonathan will win the vote of the day in Bayelsa even with the emergence of APC in Bayelsa
State.
