MEND has thrown its support behind the position of south south governors who have threatened to pull out from the Federal Government’s amnesty program if the root-cause issues are not addressed.
“It looks like the South/South governors have suddenly woken up from a long hibernation. Their nonchalant attitude to these root concerns which MEND has consistently pursued may have to do with selfish political blackmail rather than a genuine concern for their people.” MEND said through its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo in an exclusive interview with Thetimesofnigeria.com.
The governors, after an emergency meeting in Asaba said: “They resolved to meet the President on Monday with their demands before the Bill comes up for debate on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday. Their demands are straightforward and unambiguous. They are demanding that the University of Petroleum be brought back to Effurun; that the Petroleum Industries Bill which takes away the total royalty of the people of the Niger Delta without recourse to the environmental hazards suffered by the people be withdrawn immediately. They are also demanding a post-amnesty programme for the region,”
The meeting was attended by Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State), Liyel Imoke (Cross River State) and Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta State). The Governors of Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states sent delegations to the meeting.
MEND however expressed frustration with south south governors who have failed to identify with the causes the group said it has been fighting for.
According to Gbomo: “Some of these governors and so called leaders of the south south seem to only be interested in scurrying favors from Abuja and have refused to stand by the people throughout this struggle. They have started to realize what we have always known.”
Gbomo accused the governors of keeping silent when atrocities were being committed by Nigerian soldiers in their domains and wondered if they can be trusted to defend the interest of those that elected them.
“These are the same men who have turned a blind eye to the excesses of the JTF against their own people and in the case of Rivers state, complete indifference to the extra judicial killings caught on tape where not even a query from the government was carried out.
“The so-called amnesty has never been on course if we must be honest with ourselves because the current package has not addressed the root issues that mitigated our brand of militancy in the first place. The governors really have no role to play because they have never been in charge. MEND controls the shots.” Gbomo said.
The new Petroleum Bill which erodes all benefits to the communities by canceling the five percent, 25 percent and 70 percent allocated to the community, state and federal government respectively in the old Bill has ruffled many feathers in the region which continues to bear the brunt of the hazards of oil exploration in the country. The Governors contend that the substitution of the old Bill is an act of insensitivity.