Barely few days after President Muhammadu Buhari said he would only probe the former president Goodluck Jonathan's administration, tension have started mounting in the Niger Delta region as outlawed militia group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) regrouped.
Tompolo, a 'Grand Officer Commandant' of MEND has scheduled a meeting to regroup all commanders and leaders of various faction of the group.
Although the group didn't disclosed the rationale behind the meeting slated for Saturday in Izon House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, it may not be unconnected to recent presidency statement of which Buhari vowed to probe Jonathan.
Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Mr. Buhari, Femi Adesina, was quoted to have said the president will limit his anti-corruption war to the immediate past administration in the country, stressing that he will arrest and prosecute past ministers and other officials who stole Nigeria’s oil and diverted government’s money to personal accounts under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Niger Delta militants leaders who had not hide their ardent support for the Jonathan's administration had sometime ago vowed to protect him (Jonathan) with last drop of their blood, as one source said they may be regrouping specifically to review statement concerning Jonathan and the "fate of the region" in the Buhari's administration.
In an emailed statement sent by Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, a media aide to Chief Government Ekpemupolo, (aka Tompolo), the militant warlord who personally signed the statement said it is "a very crucial and urgent meeting" of the former militant commanders and leaders of various factions of the group.
“My dearly beloved Commanders and Leaders of various wings of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), I greet you all. It is my pleasure to humbly invite you to a very crucial and urgent meeting as follows: Venue: Izon House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State…,” the invitation said.
Sources close to the Tompolo said the meeting would discuss the “fate” of the Niger Delta in the current political dispensation.
The militant group had accepted the federal government’s amnesty program during the Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan presidential administrations and received cash and lucrative oil and surveillance contracts in return for peace in the often restive oil-rich Niger Delta.
The current Buhari administration has however revoked some of the controversial contracts in a bid to conserve government funds.
No comments:
Post a Comment