Militants in the Niger Delta under the
auspices of the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators have threatened fresh
actions against the interest of the Nigerian government in the region
if the country is not restructured.....
A statement signed by the leader of the
Niger Delta Watchdogs, Mr John Duku, in Uyo on Saturday noted that the
threat became necessary following many anti-democratic actions by the
Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “After carefully studying the
recent political development in Nigeria in general and the Niger Delta
in particular, the Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators hereby wishes to
state as follows:
“We hereby condemn the recent freezing
of the Akwa Ibom State Government Account by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission and we view it as an act of intimidation by the agent
of the Federal Government and the APC in order to weaken the smooth
running of government in the Niger Delta state.
“We hereby warn the EFCC and other
agents of government to desist from this act of official recklessness
and breach of the constitution.”
He described as regrettable an alleged
use of the EFCC as a tool to fight perceived political opponents,
instead of carrying out its constitutional duties without bias as
stipulated in the constitution.
“The action of the EFCC and the Federal
Government is against the laid-down procedure of investigation
stipulated in the EFCC Acts; the EFCC has no right or basis whatsoever
to freeze any state government account. Doing so against the Akwa Ibom
State Government is therefore a calculated attempt to cripple the
activities of the state government, label its officials as corrupt and
punish the innocent people of Akwa Ibom State.
“From all indications,
the attack is not on Governor Udom Emmanuel but on the good people of
the state because of the personal hatred the APC-led government has for
the people of the state in particular and the Niger Delta as a whole.
“We want to ask, why is it that EFCC
singles out opposition states like Akwa Ibom and Benue states for this
unjust act? Why are they not seeing the glaring corruption perpetrated
by other state governors and other APC states?”
Duku wondered why the EFCC would not arrest suspected corrupt officials occupying positions in the Presidency.
He also reacted to the reported threat
issued by Miyetti Allah against the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki,
saying, “We hereby condemn the recent anti-Saraki threat by Miyetti
Allah leaders and describe it as treasonable.
We also warn that any
further attempt to attack or forcefully remove the Senate President from
office shall be met with stiff resistance from the Coalition of Niger
Delta Agitators and we promise that all business activities in the Niger
Delta shall be completely shut down.”
No comments: