In
a statement made by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze on Sunday August 7, Jonathan
said the list of sponsors by the splinter group Reformed Niger Delta Avengers
(RNDA) was political, adding that it was part of an attempt to assassinate him.
The statement read in part: “Since it is not in our place to speak for all
those named in the obvious fabrication, we are only intervening to the extent
that its hidden intent poses a violent threat to the life of former President
Goodluck Jonathan, a committed patriot. READ ALSO: Enjoy the fastest surfing
with UC browser “We are seized by the feeling of déjà vu occasioned by the
resurrection of one dim character masquerading as Cynthia Whyte, who had in the
past served as the spokesperson for a notorious group that had all along shown
its hand to be going after the life of former President Jonathan.” The former
President recalled that in 2007, after he emerged as the running mate of the
late President Umar Yar’Adua, the group invaded Yenogoa in an effort to
assassinate him. He added that the members of the group later bombed his
compound in Otuoke, Bayelsa state, on a night he was scheduled to attend to an
important matter in his country home. “Do we need to remind anybody that the
so-called Cynthia Whyte is the self-declared spokesperson for the Movement for
the Emancipation of Niger Delta, a violent and murderous underground group led
by one Henry Okah, which has not hidden its intention to destroy the former
President?” Jonathan stressed. Jonathan said that the list, which named him and
other South-South leaders as Niger Delta Avengers sponsors, was another attempt
by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), to eliminate him.
According to him, the bombing that took place on October 1, 2010 at the Eagle
Square, Abuja, showed that the group was violent. GEJ noted that: “We have no
doubt in our mind that MEND, as a group contracted to go after Jonathan with
the mind of assassinating him, has yet to abandon this criminal and ignominious
craving. It is in this light that we view the purported statement issued by
Cynthia Whyte as not only a sadistic continuation of this sick desire, but also
a futile attempt to instigate the Federal Government to needlessly go after the
former President. “Those who have been following the unsavoury developments in
some parts of the country since the last general election would have noticed
that MEND, its paymasters and other unscrupulous elements in the South-South
region have been striving fruitlessly to exploit the ensuing confusion by
surreptitiously working for the fulfilment of its yet-to-be declared political
agenda. “We are not under any illusion that more accusations and allegations of
this nature would not be hurled Jonathan’s way in the future. But we are very
positive that he can never be fazed by such negative energy.” A group, which
split from the NDA – Reformed Niger Delta Avengers – had named Jonathan as the
grand patron of the NDA. An online medium, Sahara Reporters, reported that in a
statement by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, the RNDA also listed the Rivers
State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson,
as sponsors of the NDA. Others mentioned in the list were Chief Edwin Clark, a
former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio; ex-militant
leader, Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo); the founder, African Independent
Television, Raymond Dokpesi; Kingsley Kuku; Kimi Angozi, and Patrick
Akpobolokemi. According to Sahara Reporters, the group said the NDA
sympathisers are Daniel Alabrah; Tony Uranta, Daniel; Ms. Annkio Briggs, and a
former spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh. The
Reformed Niger Delta Avengers also named Oyege Nimi Brown, VIP Timothy, Joshua
Macaiver, Paul Bebenimibo, among others, as the main operatives of the NDA. It
added that the President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri, aka Brig.
Gen. Murdoch Agbinibo, served as the NDA’s chief spokesman. Also, Clark, who
spoke through his lawyer, Mr. Dotun Sowemimo, wondered why he would be
mentioned as one of the sponsors of such a heinous crime against the nation. He
said: “The allegation is an attempt to undermine the efforts of the Niger Delta
leaders to bring true, lasting peace to the region. “Clark and other leaders in
the region believe in the unity of Nigeria. The list is a cheap lie, which is
meant to distract the peace moves by the elders and leaders in the Niger
Delta.” On his part, Wike, who spoke through his Special Assistant on
Electronic Media, Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, said the list should be ignored by the
members of the public. Dokpesi, also distanced himself from the Niger Delta
Avengers. Dokpesi in an interview with The Punch on Sunday in Abuja, said he
remained committed to strengthening the unity and stability of Nigeria. He
said, “I don’t know who is giving that report; I have never met any member of
the NDA in my life, I have no association with them and I don’t know who they
are. I have been committed to strengthening the unity and stability of the
country.” Also denying the allegation, Metuh said he had nothing to do with the
NDA. He said: “Ordinarily, I would not have responded to this, but on this
occasion, I have chosen to respond, as this particularly borders on matters
affecting national security. “This is a wicked, cruel and devilish plot to link
me with such activities, especially as the claim is outright false.’’ A former
spokesman for the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, also
denied being a sympathiser of the NDA. Alabrah said in a statement on Sunday
that the report was a product of mischief designed to distract the Federal
Government from decisively addressing the resurgence of militancy in the Niger
Delta. The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, denied being a
sponsor of the Niger Delta Avengers or any other militant group. In a statement
on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Anietie Ekong, the former
Governor of Akwa Ibom state described the allegation as “baseless, reckless and
senseless.” The statement read in part, “Senator Akpabio has no link with the
Niger Delta Avengers or any other militant group for that matter.’’ Also, a
former Adviser to President Jonathan, on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, denied
reports linking him with the Avengers. Meanwhile, there are indications that
Goodluck Jonathan is meeting with militants in the Niger Delta region in a bid
to put an end to bombing of oil and gas pipelines. The Guardian reports that a
group, Niger Delta Peace Agenda, which is based in Bayelsa state, confirmed
that Jonathan was secretly meeting with militants, especially the Avengers, and
cautioned all Niger Delta militants to listen to the former president and Ijaw
leaders to give peace a chance in the region.
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