… As Avengers chooses Soyinka
By: Felix Ikpotor
Militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has threatened to pull out of the ongoing dialogue with the Federal Government should the government agree to hold separate talks with the Niger Delta Avengers’ team led by Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark.
The group equally threatened to disband the Aaron Team 2 led by former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, should the Federal Government hold peace talk with avengers.
The group’s threat came via in a statement on Tuesday signed by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo.
The militants described the NDA’s decision to name a separate dialogue team headed by Clark as hasty, premature and capable of sending wrong signals to the Federal Government that the Niger Delta was incapable of speaking with one voice.
While commending the Avengers for their resolve to stop the attack on oil installations, it however, disagreed with the NDA on the choice of Clark to lead their team for a dialogue with the Federal Government.
MEND noted in the statement that attacking oil installations to force concessions from government were no longer fashionable, recalling that it stopped all forms of hostility against economic assets of the country since May 30, 2014.
On why they don’t want Clark, the group explained that at almost 90 years of age, Clark would not be able to stand the rigours of dialogue and negotiation of the Niger Delta question and, as such, should not be considered to lead the negotiation team of the NDA.
“It is imperative to emphasise that the Federal Government of Nigeria must not set a precedence of dialogue with criminals.
“If, on the contrary, the Federal Government chooses to hold a separate dialogue with the NDA team led by Chief Clark, MEND shall immediately disband the Aaron Team 2 and pull out of the ongoing talks.
“We insist that the NDA, their patrons, sponsors, supporters and sympathisers are criminals and haters of the current administration (as revealed by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers – RNDA) who must publicly renounce all forms of hostility against Nigeria. Once this is done, MEND shall embrace the NDA and their co-travellers,” MEND said.
Meanwhile, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has been chosen by the NDA as a member of its dialogue group in the proposed dialogue with the federal government.
Spokesman for the Dialogue Group, Mr. Ballantyne Agiri, made this known on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the militants had set up dialogue group to engage the Federal Government in meaningful dialogue as part of the initiatives to end the crisis rocking the Niger Delta region.
The spokesman noted that the Nobel Laureate was chosen because of his track records as a freedom fighter as well as a credible and detribalised personality in the country.
Agiri revealed that the leadership of the group has for months been looking for credible persons who are capable of standing for them and present their grievances before the federal government.
“I was on my own when they invited me to work for them.
“But I told them that one person cannot hold dialogue with the government, that we should look for eminent Nigerians who have the pedigree to do a good job.
“The moment I mentioned Professor Wole Soyinka, they became interested because, according to them, he is somebody who is not from the Niger Delta, but has a credible and detribalised personality,” he said.
