ONE of the top ex-militants in the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo), on Thursday called the commanders of militant groups in the oil rich region to an urgent and “crucial” meeting.
Tompolo called the meeting via an electronic mail for 2pm on Saturday at Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
The invitation, a copy of which was made available to one of our correspondents, read, “My dearly beloved Commanders and Leaders of various wings of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, I greet you all.
“It is my pleasure to humbly invite you to a very crucial and urgent meeting as follows…”
A source confided in The PUNCH that Tompolo and members of his group had allegedly been meeting in the last six days.
It was learnt that the situation among former militants in the Niger Delta came to a head on Wednesday, when Buhari threatened to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan over oil theft.
It was also gathered that the leaders of MEND were bitter because of the termination of contracts they were executing for the Federal Government in the oil industry.
Efforts by one of our correspondents to speak with Tompolo on his mobile phones proved abortive as none of his two lines were connected.
But one of his aides, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “Oga dey vex, we will do something very soon to surprise the nation. We cannot be ignored at all; instead somebody is talking about probe”.
The statement calling the ex-militants to the ‘crucial’ meeting was signed by Tompolo.
The Jonathan administration had a few years ago awarded a contract for tracking ships and cargoes as well as enforcement of regulatory compliance and surveillance of the entire Nigerian maritime domain to GWVSL.
The company, which was said to be owned by Tompolo, was expected to execute the contract in partnership with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
The recently-sacked Director-General of NIMASA, Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, had defended the contract, saying N124bn would be generated for the Federal Government by the GWVSL Before approving the contract, Jonathan had sent a memo to the National Assembly, urging it to discountenance an earlier one submitted by the late Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua, had sought to create a coastal guard, comprising all security agencies, to man the country’s maritime domain.The alleged neglect of the Niger Delta amnesty programme by President Muhammadu Buhari and his plan to fish out oil thieves might have triggered clandestine meetings of members of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta.
One of our correspondents learnt that there had been tension among the Niger Delta ex-militants because of their belief that the President might have abandoned the amnesty programme.
The amnesty programme was negotiated under the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua for militants who surrendered their arms and made themselves available for rehabilitation.
The suspicion of the militants that the President had left them in the cold was said to have been reinforced by non-payment of stipends and training allowances of ex-militants since May when Buhari assumed power.
The PUNCH learnt that the ex-militants, at their meetings, threatened to make worse the insecurity in the country.
It was gathered that the ex-militants were also angered by the fate of trainee pilots under the amnesty programme.
The trainee pilots were said to be facing eviction in their institutions in foreign countries because of failure of government to pay their fees.
The Head, Media and Communication, Amnesty Office, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, confirmed to one of our correspondents on the telephone that the salaries, allowances and stipends of the delegates had not been paid for May and June.
He said that the issue of the salaries and allowances was being handled at the Presidency.
Alabrah said that the office was optimistic that the President would look into the matter very soon, explaining that the new government would need to understand the operations of the programme.
“The salaries for May and June and in-training allowances have not been paid.
“The matter is being handled at the State House. We are expecting something positive. We empathise with the delegates; it is a new administration, they really want to understand how the programme is being run. Action would be taken very soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, a former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has called Buhari’s attention to the imminent danger facing the amnesty programme.
He said that N5.3bn was still with the Amnesty Programme Office.
He therefore called on the President to urgently appoint someone into office for the management of the fund.
Clark, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said that lack of replacement for Kingsley Kuku, who was chairman of the amnesty programme in the last regime, was causing ripples in the Niger Delta region.
He said, “I wish to bring to the attention of Mr. President the imminent danger facing the amnesty programme.
“I have received a series of delegates from our people on the same matter and I have appealed to them to remain calm and continue to maintain the peace.”
He said there had been series of demonstrations by youths and mothers as a result of dismissal of 13 ex-militant youths being trained as pilots by the Lufthansa Airlines Training School in Frankfurt, Germany.
The trainees, he added, claimed that they were being deprived of their training and sent packing by their various institutions in South Africa, Russia, Ukraine and other countries in Europe, due to the failure of the Federal Government to pay the Amnesty Training Fees and scholarship grants.
Clark said that it was unfortunate that this happened not because of lack of funds, but because of who to disburse it.
He said, “From my investigation, I’m reliably informed that lack of funds is not the problem, but the authority to operate the account.
“I’m also reliably informed that there is an amount of N5.3bn left for the execution of the Amnesty programme.”
He reiterated the importance of peace in the oil rich Niger Delta region to the country’s economy.
-Punch
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