September 19, (THEWILL) – Ex-militants from the six States of the Niger Delta region under the aegis of the Supreme Egbesu Freedom Fighters of Niger Delta (SEFFND) have described as “false” and “sponsored blackmail” the claim that the leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and former President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC Worldwide), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, was barred from the Presidential Villa due to an alleged rift with President Bola Tinubu.
According to SEFFND, though those behind the claim have been identified as desperate contractors seeking renewal of the oil pipeline surveillance contracts, the claim is a calculated attempt to discredit the rising personality of Dokubo Asari with the intention of putting a wedge between him and President Tinubu in other to fuel hostilities in the Niger Delta with falsehood and blackmail.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the leader of the group, self-styled General Agadagba 1, also known along the creeks and waterways of the region as the River Don.
He said after a meeting and proper brief on the issue with various leaders of the militant groups and their unit commanders, it was resolved that Dokubo Asari has paid the supreme price in the agitation for the emancipation of the Niger Delta question and that the false claim was the handiwork of mischief makers who didn’t believe in the candidature of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and worked against him in the last presidential election in their states.
“We also agreed that these identified mischief makers and desperate contractors also played double gain during the poll and lost their local government areas and various wards to the major opposition party PDP in the region. It is obvious that they are envious of Alhaji Dokubo Asari taking up a notable position at the centre stage in the seat of power.
“These series of attacks and cheap blackmail on Dokubo are necessitated because Dokubo stood firm in support of the candidature of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC against their preferred candidate in the opposition party in the region, and Dokubo massively mobilised all his men to move to Abuja to be on ground in defence of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate at the presidential tribunal court,” he said, adding that “these persons are just mere detractors and frustrated disgruntled elements, who just want to benefit from a house they never joined to build from the beginning.”
The group of ex-militant leaders, therefore, declare support for the style of leadership being displayed Dokubo Asari, saying “We know those who are behind the fake news, they are not comfortable with Dokubo Asari’s genuine concern and commitment to stand side by side in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and for shunning every rebellious attack and critics from some of these persons and their loyalist, and for him to stand for the betterment and the overall development of the people of the Niger Delta region and the country in general.”
SEFFND, therefore, “emphatically warn those desperate ex-militant leaders not to allow us to spill the beans, because we have watertight information with proof of their illegal dealings and connivance with some top shots.”
