A group called the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators, presumably a collection of various aggrieved groups in Nigeria’s south-south region, has given northerners and Yoruba indigenes up until October 1 to vacate the region.
The coalition in a statement issued on Thursday expressed its readiness to resume bomb attacks on oil installations in the region by September 10 ahead of the declaration of an independent Niger Delta region by October 1, 2017.
The statement was signed by the convener of the NDA, John Duku; Ekpo Ekpo of Niger Delta Volunteers; Osarolor Nedam (Niger Delta Warriors); Henry Okon Etete (Niger Delta Peoples Fighters); Asukwo Henshaw (Bakassi Freedom Fighters); and Ibinabo Horsfall (Niger Delta Movement for Justice).
The coalition in its statement on Thursday similarly distanced itself from the consultations between the Nigerian presidency and leaders of the oil-region under the aegis of the Pan Niger-Delta Forum (PANDEF).
“We totally condemn the recent meeting between PANDEF and the Acting President; we see it as another plot to deceive the Niger Delta people. First and foremost, the meeting was marred by inordinate greed of the PANDEF as they did not involve the representatives of the agitating groups and youth leaders.
“We wish to let the Acting President know that those he met have no capacity and cannot solve the current crisis in the Niger Delta; therefore they cannot represent the militants or speak for the Niger Delta people,” the coalition said.
The Agitators have asked the federal government to hand over “all oil blocks owned by the northerners/Yoruba to Niger Delta indigenes” while equally demanding that all oil companies operating in such oil blocks/wells vacate the region by October 1st, 2017.
Other demands made by the group include the relocation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters to any of the Niger Delta states, replacement of the current Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru (a northerner) with an indigene of the region and the relocation of the operational bases of multinational oil companies to the Niger Delta.
The federal government is yet to react to the statement. Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere however reportedly told the Punch that it needed to ascertain the authenticity of the threats before reacting to the statement. Leader of the Arewa Youth Group, Yerima Shettima who had earlier issued a similar quit notice to easterners in the north declined to comment on the latest threats from the Niger Delta.
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