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Tag: Chief Mike Loyibo

  • Delta polls: Tuomo leaders panic over impending crisis

    Everybody knows it is the turn of Tuomo, the biggest community in Burutu Local Government Area, to produce the councillor, Godsday Orubebe still said even if it’s not the turn of his town, he will impose an unpopular wish on the people.

    The Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has been urged to quickly intervene in the brewing political crisis in Tuomo, Burutu Local Government Area, over alleged attempt to impose a councillorship candidate on the people. Addressing reporters in Warri penultimate week, Tuomo political leaders, who are also key stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), raised the alarm that ongoing political activities in Tuomo, which is Ward 5 of Burutu, were already heating up the entire council area, a situation they claimed was threatening peace.

    The elders that include the traditional ruler of Tuomo, His Royal Highness Emokpo Opukuma; former Majority Leader of the defunct Bendel State House of Assembly, Prince Okpanbeni Johnny; and Barrister Dio Orubebe, said some people were trying to subvert the will of the majority for their personal interest.

    According to the elders, the PDP in the ward had held a peaceful primary election, which produced a winner, in the person of Adesefuobo Emokpo, but alleged that the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Godsday Orubebe, had been making efforts to scuttle the process by attempting to impose another aspirant as candidate.

    “This whole thing began three years ago during the last local government election when Orubebe went to tell the then governor, Uduaghan, that it was his community’s turn. After this boy (Emokpo) won the primary, we have to prevail on him to wait for the next turn, just to avert trouble.

    “Now it is another election season and we have all witnessed the process so far; first the ward leadership constituted an electoral college, which met in Mr Orubebe’s house in Ogbogbagbene, over 73 people. All the aspirants spoke at the meeting and all agreed to go through a free process.

    “Everybody knows it is the turn of Tuomo, the biggest community in Burutu Local Government Area, to produce the councillor, Godsday Orubebe still said even if it’s not the turn of his town, he will impose an unpopular wish on the people and the people said no. The state secretariat of the PDP sent a returning officer in the person of Comrade Elijah Ologeh.

    “He came to Tuomo and conducted the primary. All the people, in their thousands, queued behind Emokpo; he had 297 votes as against the 11 that Orubebe’s candidate got. Before they could call the results, we learnt that Orubebe had called the governor and lied to him that there was tension in the town and without reaching any of us, the governor directed that the primary be suspended.

    “However, they declared the results and they were submitted. It was based on the result that all the leaders of the ward endorsed the result and escorted the returning officer to Asaba to submit it. Even with all these, Orubebe still continued to pester the governor that he should be given the councillor and the governor, we learned, has agreed to this. This is unacceptable, nobody should think they can subvert the will of the people”, they said.

    Efforts to reach the former Minister for response were unsuccessful as he neither answered a call put across to him nor respond to an SMS message sent to him.

    Meanwhile, another leader from Tuomo community and the National Coordinator of the Pan-Niger Delta People’s Congress (PNDPC), Chief Mike Loyibo, has appealed to the people of the community to remain calm, assuring that proper steps were being taken to make Dr Okowa see the true situation of things, adding that the governor, being a man of justice, would let the truth prevail.

     

  • ‘We believe in united Nigeria’

    Niger Delta leaders on Friday insisted on a fair, just and equitable country as opposed to a break-up canvassed recently by the Spokesman of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Ango Abdullahi.

    The National Coordinator of Pan Niger Delta Peoples Congress (PNDPC), Chief Mike Loyibo, said though they were not afraid of breakup, they had unanimously agreed that Nigeria would be better as one entity.

    He said they would continue to advocate a restructured Nigeria where states would be allowed to control their resources and pay certain amount of taxes to the Federal Government.

    He said they were tired of the current lopsided arrangement where the region which feeds the country, remains marginalised in key security and oil and gas positions.

    He said: “Our problem is that of injustice. The constitution itself is defective and we have been long marginalised. What we are simply saying is true federalism where the regions are allowed to develop at their own pace. Allow us to control and manage our resources and we pay certain taxes to the government.

    “Nobody is afraid of breakup after all Nigeria was a forced marriage. Our position as Niger Delta leaders is that there should be restructuring. We want a structure that will address the injustice we have. For instance among all the MOPOL commanders, no Niger Delta is a MOPOL commander.

    “Look at the recent appointments in NNPC, there was a very serious injustice to the people of the region. Look at other sectors, the injustices are there. The government has been very unfair to us. I don’t support breakup but I support one Nigeria where there will be justice, equity and every side will be allowed to develop at their own pace.

    “Obafemi Awolowo succeeded that much because there was cocoa and the region was only paying taxes to the Federal Government. Ango Abdullahi is entitled to his opinion. I am surprised because that man is always speaking from both sides of his mouth. The other day he said it was not resource control but resource management.

    Also, the former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udens Eradiri, said though breaking up was not an impossible task, Nigeria would only remain stronger as a united country.

    He said the country must be restructured to ensure equity and justice, adding that devolution of power enable states to develop at their pace.

     

  • Niger Delta elders to meet Buhari with new template for peace

    Niger Delta elders to meet Buhari with new template for peace

    Niger Delta leaders of thought under a new platform of Pan Niger Delta People’s Congress (PNDPC), have prepared a new template for sustainable peace and development of the region to be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The new body, which said it had been mandated by the coalition of the Niger Delta agitators to negotiate for the region, expressed optimism that the meeting with Buhari would hold in October this year.

    The group of elders emerged a few weeks ago after the coalition of Niger Delta militants passed a vote of no confidence in the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

    The elders drawn from all the states in the Niger Delta region including Cross River met at the palace of Ibedaowei of Opokuma Kingdom, King Okpoitari Diongoli, in Opokuma, Bayelsa State, at the weekend, to adopt the new template.

    The National Chairman, PNDPC, His Royal Majesty Charles Ayemi-Botu, said the new body was put in place to selflessly fight for the development of the region through dialogue with the Presidency.

    Ayemi-Botu, a former National Chairman of Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria (OMPCN) and paramount ruler of Seimbiri Kingdom, said the body was formed to change the negative narratives of the region.

    He said: ”This is an all-encompassing Niger Delta people, who in consonance with our sons and daughters, agitating in the creeks, come together to see how we can provide a lasting solution to the age-long marginalisation and problems of the region.

    ”This body is independent of any other body. We have set up a strategic planning committee and after a month, we are now ready with our own vision and mission. We have just gone through it, circulated it among our members and in our subsequent meeting, we are going to adopt it and the world we know what we stand for.

    ”So, our being here is to show that we are a different set of people from the region that has the interest of the people of the region at heart. And we will in this October meet with the Presidency to discuss and come out with what and what we are going to do to better the lots of the people of the region.

    ”We know the problems of the region and we are going to present these problems to the Presidency. We want to make the Niger Delta region like ‘Dubai of Nigeria’ because nature in its infinite mercy has bestowed on us the ‘black gold’ which is the economic livewire of the country.

    ”Over 98 per cent of the gross domestic product is coming from oil; but because we have bad leadership, people who are self-centred, people who only feel to better themselves and leaving the rest to suffer, that is how we are where we are. But it is no longer going to be business as usual.”

    He insisted that the group was not partisan adding that members comprised traditional rulers, religious leaders, eminent persons, technocrats, among others.

    He said the activities of the group since its formation were the reason for the relative peace enjoyed in the region following commitment by militants to ensure ceasefire.

    Ayemi-Botu said: ”You see last year when the agitators or freedom fighters  went to the creeks and started destroying the economy. That added to the recession but when we came and asked for peace, they sheathed their swords and allowed peace to reign.

    ”The production that was up to 2.2million barrels went down to 700,000 barrels, but as at August when we met them and they embraced peace and ceasefire, you can see that our economy has jerked up to 2million barrels per day and the recession is gone.

    ”We pray that given the time and understanding of the Federal Government, the peaceful situation in the country and the upsurge in the production of oil in the country will continue and Nigeria and Niger Delta will not remain the same again.”

    Also speaking, the National Coordinator, PNDPC, Chief Mike Loyibo, said the body was not formed to fight any group but to advance the peace, security and development of the region.

    ”Our mission is to see how we can advance the fulcrum of the Niger Delta people. We are not a political party, we have activists, clergy men, opinion leaders and we came together when we realised that there was a problem about leadership,” he said.

  • PANDEF VS PNDPC: There’s no coup, just leadership change – Ijaw Monarch

    PANDEF VS PNDPC: There’s no coup, just leadership change – Ijaw Monarch

    The Pan Niger Delta People’s Congress (PNDPC) has cited the failure of the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) provide the needed leadership to represent the interests of the people of the oil-rich region.

    Leader of the PNDPC and paramount ruler of Seimbiri Kingdom in Burutu council area of Delta state, Pere Charles Ayemi-Botu, speaking in the company of other members of the new body in Warri on Monday, also debunked insinuations that the emergence of his group was a coup against Chief Clark, noting that the PNDPC was a child of circumstance, brought about by the demand of agitators who necessitated the birth of PANDEF.

    Meanwhile, the Chief Clark-led PANDEF had insisted that it remains the only body set up to represent the interest of the people of the Niger Delta, describing the PNDPC and its coordinator, Chief Mike Loyibo, as impostors.

    Speaking yesterday at the meeting set to formalise his group’s acceptance of the call to represent the interests of the Niger Delta region by agitators, Pere Ayemi-Botu said membership of the body is opened to all Niger Delta people, adding that they would soon commence an engagement with all stakeholders in the Niger Delta matters.

    “In the course of accepting our nomination and mandate, which also translates into the withdrawal of an earlier mandate given to a sister organisation, we must have widely and meticulously consulted our people and became convinced that resulting from the low success rates achieved so far in this struggle, a change in command and operational dynamics has become inevitable.

    “It is very sad to note that due largely to external and structural imperfections in Nigeria’s present federalism and the internal mismanagement of funds allocated for the development of the region, we have remained poor in all ramifications, in spite of our enormous contributions to the wealth of the Nigerian project.

    “This situation must be reversed. The Pan-Niger Delta People’s Congress must work more assiduously to usher in massive infrastructural and human capital development in the region”, the monarch said.

    Also speaking to journalists after the briefing, the Coordinator of the PCNPC, Chief Mike Loyibo, said the new body was convened by the agitators in the Niger Delta, believing that the people now selected to represent the region have the integrity to speak on their behalf without hiding anything from them.

    He said the new group has all the members that formed the core of the PANDEF, noting that all the people who started the PANDEF had all fallen back to PNDPC.

    It would be recalled that the PANDEF, in a statement issued by its Coordinating Secretary, Dr Alfred Mulade, had written off the PNDPC as an impostor group, calling on the government not to heed its antics.

    “PANDEF remains a not-for-profit, non-political and non-religious regional organisation, with its members cut across all political, cultural and religious divides, the undisputed voice of the region, and certainly not a platform for seeking political, social or pecuniary tendencies, as some persons would want to erroneously think.

    “PANDEF hereby urges the government and all stakeholders to be wary of the intents and activities of these confusionists and troublemakers, whose intents and activities are inimical to peace, stability and development of the Niger Delta region, as we call on the security agencies to investigate them accordingly”, the statement said.