avengers (2)

The fight for relvevance among Niger Delta militants, as proposals are made towards dialogue with the Federal Government, continued yesterday. A new group which calls itself Niger Delta Greenland Justice Madate and which recently claimed responsibility for the bombing of oil pipelines in the upland part of Delta State has disagreed with the  Niger Delta Avengers over who will represent them at the dialogue.

Only last Saturday, the Avengers stated their readiness to support any team put together by erstwhile Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark and other “genuine” stakeholders from the Niger Delta. Yesterday, the new group, NDGJM, said they would prefer the Niger Delta Dialogue Contact Group led by the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff.

In a statement by its spokeperson, Aldo Agbalaja, NDGJM yesterday stated that it had no confidence in the group led by Chief E.K. Clark. It described the group as the same set of Niger Delta politicians who denied the region of development during the presidency of  Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

While warning that unless President Muhammadu Buhari did the right thing for the people of the Niger Delta, it would continue to attack oil facilities, NDGJM said the Niger Delta Dialogue Contact Group could be a channel the Federal Government could employ to reach the genuine representatives of the people.

The statement further told Buhari: “Buid 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.

“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.”