Leaders and representatives of former militants drawn from all seven states of the Niger Delta, in alliance with a new think-tank of oil producing ethnic nationality of the region have thrown their weight behind the ticket of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
Coming on the edge of the February 25 presidential election, the former agitators declared their stand in Port Harcourt on Tuesday under the umbrella name, Conference of Ex-militants for Niger Delta Industrial Rebirth (CENDIR). They made the declaration in alliance with a new body of Niger Delta elders, leaders and stakeholders which go by the name Oil Producing Ethnic Nationalities for Good Governance (OPEN-GG) after what both bodies described as six months of painstaking and inclusive consultations since mid-September last year across the seven Niger Delta states.
Under a common theme set by both groups titled “One State, One Refinery We Plead” and speaking on the side of the communique issued in a well attended, highly exclusive conclave under tight security, one of the frontline co-conveners of CENDIR, Lord Marshall George Ansa-Duke, who is also the Director Forward Operations of CENDIR said:
“We have a vision of a new Niger Delta region and government of its member states no longer run by guns but by brains. A Niger Delta not run by politicians but by statesmen and nation builders.
“We have a vision of a new Niger Delta governed by a breed of leaders who are forward looking and think into the future for their people and posterity. A region whose youths are not fed with scraps, guns and bullets to rig elections for selfish unscrupulous politicians in every election year.”
Lord Marshall George continued, “We desire a new Niger Delta whose citizens are not fed seasonal crumbs and handouts from our region’s vast oil resources by heartless, shortsighted, selfish and corrupt federal government captors, state governors and local government chairmen. We desire an economically thriving region whose indigenes excel through multi-mineral derivative industrialization and employment, quality education, health, environmental remediation, modern scientific agricultural intervention to rejuvenate our polluted lands much like Israel turned its arid, stony desert soil to fertile agricultural paradise.
“We want a new Niger Delta with purified waters and efficient power infrastructure that are at par with those which serve the residential quarters of expatriates of the IOCs (international oil companies) who explore the oil and gas resources of our land while our people live in stone age darkness, abject poverty, squalor and disease side by side their paradise. Is such life upgrade, among other provisions and possibilities of modern civilization, too much to ask for the people of the Niger Delta?” Lord George who derives his title from creek ranks lexicon in the pre-Yar’Adua militancy era enquired.
Taking it from there, Ijaw elder statesman, Elder Timi Kaiser-Wilhelm Ogoriba, who is a co-founder of the new regional think-tank, OPEN-GG, rejoined, “All of the ideals described by George are perfectly possible. But only through good governance by genuine public spirited citizens who are competent, creative, wealth generating, empathic, compassionate and accountable to Nigerians in general and the people of the Niger Delta in particular.”
TK, as Elder Ogoriba is popularly known across the region, who signed the communique of the conference on behalf of OPEN-GG, went on, “Having these criteria in view, we put the presidential candidates of the four frontline political parties, APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu, PDP’s Abubakar Atiku, NNPP’s Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi under the microscope of keen and sincere scrutiny. This was since September last year. Having objectively monitored their campaigns and utterances since then, the verdict is unambiguous, crystal plain and beyond debate that the man the cap fits, indeed planets apart the other candidates as a potential iconic president of Nigeria in this dispensation, is Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
“Let’s be clear. All of us in this multi-lateral conference belong to one or the other of the four leading political parties of Nigeria, APC, PDP, NNPP and Labour Party.” Elder TK explained.
“However, without apologies to any quarters and without prejudice to the political parties which conveners of this meeting individually belong, for the sake of Nigeria and our Niger Delta region in particular, the consensus we have reached today with our progressive young ex-agitators of CENDIR and our own body as elders and leaders of our region is clear. Peter Obi is the candidate we are all to work for throughout the region, mobilize for and deliver by every lawful means possible and available,” TK asserted, shutting the door on any debate or argument about the position they had taken.
An official communique adopting Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, was issued at the end of the conference and was signed by consenting members of various ex-militant camps, ethnic social-cultural and economic advocacy groups from all seven states and oil producing ethnic nationalities of the region.
These include Oporoza House, a group especially famous in Delta as host to Tompolo, one of the biggest and most regarded leaders of the ex-militant community of Nigeria, Ijaw Leadership Stakeholders Working Group (ILSWG) and the Movement for Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality of the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) both of which which Elder TK Goriba belong.
Others include newly constituted Ogoni Renaissance (OR), Urhobo Progress Vanguard (UPV), Edo Posterity Summit (EPS), Isoko Equity Agenda (IsEA), Kalabari Vision Vanguard (KVV), Ndokwa Progress Roundtable (NPR), and Ondo Akatapa Oil & Gas Watch (OKOGW).
Representing the younger ex-militants component of the conference who co-signed the communique are sector heads of the Niger Delta Coast Guards (NDCG), Niger Delta Riverine Security Network (NDRSN) and Niger Delta Congress.
Bearing carryover of their seemingly inseparable creek ranks from the blistering days of the militancy era, these include General Commander Tabu Obriki, Commander (Land and Sea) Abel Tariah, Mega Senior Prefect 1 Chief Long John Ebikaribo and High Chief Commander Solomon E. Oga. Others are Marine Capt. R.S. Uduboh, Marine Capt. E.J. Dein, Marine Capt. E.G. Ebikeme, Marine Capt. M.N. Emberru and Tonye Wokoma (Esq).
Ranking signatories of the conference told reporters that for strategic operational reasons, there were huge masquerades and actors behind the scene who could not be disclosed for purpose of effective monitoring, policing and discipline of rank and files of the ex-militants community. With provision of appropriate election monitoring logistics at every election day, these alpha heads of ex-militants, they assured, would assist national security agencies to wield the big stick against election subversion renegades and rebels in the creeks and onshore space to ensure that elections in the region were free of violence, intimidation and rigging against Peter Obi.
Below is the communique.
COMMUNIQUE BY CENDIR & OPEN-GG TODAY TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2023, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA
Today, we the undersigned ex-militants of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, being of well-known public identity, in full alliance with our elder statesmen and leaders of the Oil Producing Ethnic Nationalities for Good Governance (OPEN-GG), both of which umbrella bodies comprise over forty indigenous groups having common interest for the rapid social, economic, environmental and political development of our region, hereby undertake and sign this communique before the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
That we have diligently, clinically and objectively undertaken a study of the political manifesto, character, competence, capacity and virtues of the four major Presidential Candidates of the oncoming election scheduled to hold across Nigeria on February 25, 2023.
That in our 6-month study which began in mid-September 2022 and culminated yesterday February 21st, we put into solemn consideration our region’s best development interest especially in regard to our common vision, entreaty and wish list of One State One Refinery (OS-OR) industrial ideology for our region. An entreaty which shall be conveyed in due course to the incoming Federal Government Administration of Nigeria that shall begin from May 29, 2023.
That after the broadest, most encompassing and empirical consultation with ex-militants of various camps across the seven states of the Niger Delta, development experts, elder statesmen, wise men and stakeholders of our region, including trusted religious leaders, PANDEF and other revered ethnic nationalities, the glaring and crystal plain conclusion was reached that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party has the highest governance intelligence quotient, creative industrial competence, resourceful innate integrity, compassionate potentialities and propensity to decisively implement practical solutions to the well documented myriads of leadership failure, epic environmental degradation and traumatic corruption which have impeded real development of our Niger Delta region for too long.
Having come to that unanimous and unequivocal conclusion, we hereby passionately appeal to every ex-militant, youth, women group and leadership of ethnic nationalities of the region to come to terms with the rationales we have given above. Accordingly, we ask you to join us deliver every scrap of ballot paper that arrives the soil, shores, creeks, cities, towns, camps and hamlets of our Niger Delta region for Mr. Peter Obi and his amiable running mate, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as the next President and Vice President of Nigeria come February 25, 2023.
While we acknowledge that the Nigerian constitution gives every citizen of voting age the franchise to vote the candidates of their choice, we cannot pretend to understand and applaud those few rebels and renegades for sale among Niger Delta ex-militants, youth groups, ethnic nationality leaders, traditional rulers and sundry citizens who have shamelessly endorsed and claim to align with the presidential candidate of the PDP, Mr. Abubakar Atiku.
For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state without reservation that Atiku Abubakar is an unfeeling Fulani who, having found a like-minded traitor in the visionless governor of Delta state, Mr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, has demonstrated to all peoples of Southern Nigeria his historic contempt for all southerners and political arrogance by breaking faith with the moral principle of North-South power rotation. An unwritten political code of conduct which has been in place for 24 years for the immaculate purpose of equity, sense of equality and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians of our two coordinate hemispheres.
By arrogantly insisting on running for President of Nigeria immediately following the eight years of catastrophic, genocidal and traumatizing misrule of the sitting Fulani president, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and his fellow Brutus, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa, should know that they have gambled out the last political home run of their political careers. Their only remedy is to summon the courage to withdraw from the presidential race within the few hours remaining to the polls of February 25 and in so doing make epic history of turning from villains to heroes at the nick of time. The choice is theirs.
As for the presidential candidate of the APC, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during our seven-month study towards arriving at a consensus on the presidential candidate best suited to confront and provide enduring solutions to the arduous governance challenges of our peculiar region, Mr. Bola Tinubu made the job easier for us by telling us himself everything that we needed to know about him, which is that he is not a presidential material for this planet, neither our Niger Delta region.
As for Mr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, the only comment we find worth making is that we reserve our comment till 2027 when he may materialize in the political space again for a shirt to play in that political season, Almighty Allah preserving him till then.
Finally, we urge all citizens of the Niger Delta to come out en masse without fear of harm to life and limb or rigging apprehensions. We call on all ex-militants in all the seven states of our region and beyond, wherever else they may be in the country on election day, to provide back-up security and safe polling environment for all citizens of the region and Nigeria at large to enable law-abiding citizens freely, safely and confidently cast their votes.
We call on all Nigerians to come out boldly to vote for Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed. Take your destiny in your hands and freely exercise your franchise right. Do not be afraid of so-called warlords on the sides of Atiku or Tinubu. There is a Warlord in Heaven who shall be watching over every other “warlord” and Governor of the region. Warlords and Governors who have procured their own bargain of illicit abundance through unscrupulous politics to sell out the freedom, franchise and destiny of the Niger Delta people.
The Peter Obi ticket is your best ticket to freedom. Seize it. Use it.
Thank you.
God bless the Niger Delta.
God bless Nigeria.
SIGNED:
A. Constituent Members, Conference of Ex-Militants of Niger Delta for Industrial Rebirth (CENDIR):
Oporoza House,
Ijaw Leadership Stakeholders Working Group (ILSWG)
The Movement for Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality of the Niger Delta (MOSIEND)
Ogoni Renaissance (OR),
Urhobo Progress Vanguard (UPV).
Edo Posterity Summit (EPS), Isoko Equity Agenda (IsEA).
Kalabari Vision Vanguard (KVV).
Ndokwa Progress Roundtable (NPR).
Ondo Akatapa Oil & Gas Watch (OKOGW).
Niger Delta Coast Guards (NDCG).
Niger Delta Riverine Security Network (NDRSN).
Niger Delta Congress.(NDC).
General Commander
Tabu Obriki,
Commander (Land and Sea) Abel Tariah.
Mega Senior Prefect 1 Chief Long John Ebikaribo.
High Chief Commander Solomon E. Oga.
Marine Capt. R.S. Uduboh.
Marine Capt. E.J. Dein.
Marine Capt. E.G. Ebikeme.
Marine Capt. M.N. Emberru.
Tonye Wokoma (Esq).
B. For Oil Producing Ethnic Nationalities for Good Governance (OPEN-GG):
Elder Timi Kaiser-Wilhelm Ogoriba (TK).