A new militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate
which has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil facilities in the upland
area of the Niger Delta, on Monday warned the Federal Government not to
negotiate with Chief Edwin Clark-led negotiation team on behalf of militants in
the region.
Instead of Chief Clark’s team, the group said they will accept any
dialogue coming from the government through the Niger Delta Dialogue Contact
Group, led by the first military governor of Rivers State and Amanyanabo
(traditional ruler) of Twon Brass of Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff.
The Niger Delta Avengers had on Saturday said they were ready to
support any collective/negotiation team emerging from Chief Edwin Kiagbodo
Clark and other genuine Niger Delta stakeholders.
But in a statement issued by the spokesperson of the NDGJM, Aldo Agbalaja, on
Monday, the group said the Ijaw national leader cannot negotiate for militants
in the region, noting that Clark’s team was the same ‘gang of breast-pocket
politicians’ who in the six to seven years of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency
denied the region of development.
It threatened to carry out further deadly attacks on oil
institution until the President Muhammadu Buhari does the right thing for the
people of the region.
The statement read, “We are also aware that there is a group
(NDDCG), led by the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Alfred Diete-Spiff, which
has the involvement of some international agencies. We would rather the Federal
Government builds on this group to reach out to the genuine representatives of
the peoples of the region, across the six states, to discuss the way forward.
The reason is that we believe that what is worth doing at all is worth doing
well.
“Build on this group and reach out to our people, not on an Edwin
Clark group which had connived with Jonathan in the past to subject this
region, including the majority of our Ijaw brothers, to one of the most untold
humiliations by leaving the region they claimed to be representing worse than
it was under previous administrations.
“Enough of these buccaneers in the name of leaders of the region.
Our people from both the upland and the creeks deserve a better deal, not the
Avengers kind of deal. We are serving a notice that the Niger Delta Greenland
Justice Mandate is still carrying on with this campaign against Nigeria’s oil
and gas interest until the Federal Government does the right thing.”
NDGJM added that the same people who established the Niger Delta
Avengers were the same people who called for the ceasefire.
“Niger Delta Avengers: As a matter of fact, the people who
called for truce were the same set of people who put the Avengers together in
the first place. Therefore, the hypocrisy of these people is becoming glaring
to the world by the day.
“We also know that the charade called ceasefire is in the bid to
collect more money from both the Federal Government and oil companies, which
would be shared between the founders and the boys of the Avengers. We hereby
serve a notice that the so-called truce called by E.K. Clark and co. is not
recognised by the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, as we do not see Clark
as the leader of all Niger Delta, but of only the Ijaw nation.
“Therefore, President Buhari should take note. Stop wasting your
time on these people; they are not serving the interest of the Niger Delta and
they cannot stop the current campaign. They can only withdraw their boys, the
Avengers, from action but not the genuine campaigners for a better Niger Delta.
“We hereby serve a notice that the so-called truce called by E.K. Clark
and co. is not recognised by the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, as we
do not see Clark as the leader of all Niger Delta, but of only the Ijaw
nation”, the statement further added.
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