2015 to decide Nigeria’s unity, says MEND

EROMOSELE EBHOMELE

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), which is currently agitating for the release of Henry Okah, its alleged leader and mastermind of the 1 October 2010 explosion in Nigeria, has declared that the 2015 general elections would determine the further unity of the country.

The militant group which warned Governor Babangida Aliyu and other Nigerians against heating up the polity before the election period, said it remained resolute on ensuring that its actions would lead the country to a break-up except the right things were done.

In a statement released on Wednesday and titled ‘Court Verdict On Odi, The PIB Bill And 2015 Election’, the group said: “concerning the 2015 election, we believe that no Nigerian, not even one, had mandated any person(s) to enter into any agreement(s) on their behalf on who becomes the next Nigerian President come 2015.”

“…so we (MEND) want to advise the likes of Governor Aliyu Babandiga of Niger State and his co-traveler, Mr. Junaid Mohammed, that Nigerians and only Nigerians alone will decide who runs or becomes the next president come 2015.”

For Mr. Mohammed, the statement signed by Comrade Azizi on behalf of the group, said he should stop his threats as MEND was getting ready to disintegrate the country even before he begins his legal tussle should the election not favour the northern part of the country.

“We want to inform the Nigerian government that our movement is ever ready to negotiate both the release of our leader, Henry Okah/members and also the peace of the region if truly it wants it,” the group explained.

MEND commended Justice Lambi Akanbi of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt which on Tuesday awarded the sum of N37.6 billion to the people of Odi community in Kolokuma – Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa state as compensation for the invasion of their community by armed soldiers during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“With this verdict coming from an arm of the Nigerian government, the entire freedom fighters in the Niger Delta have been vindicated.

“Nigerians can now see clearly that the invasion of our communities was carried out by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo purely to have control over our resources.

MEND said the judgement stressed that the compensation to these communities must be done within three weeks beginning from Tuesday promising that it was going to make sure the judgement is enforced.

The group urged the High Court in Abuja trying some of its members to review the death or life sentence of the ones currently in jail while calling for the release of Henry Okah.

The statement warned northern politicians and international oil companies operating within the Niger Delta region to accept the realities of the Petroleum Industry bill currently before the National Assembly and further warned of grave consequences should the content of the bill be altered by the legislators.