Umbrella body of Ijaw Youths World-wide, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) World-wide, said, on Wednesday, that the adoption of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, for the 2015 presidential election by a fake group claiming to be Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), was inconsequential and of no electoral value, saying election was won by votes cast by physical and verifiable human beings.
This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesman of the IYC, Comrade Eric Omare, and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He posited that the real Niger-Delta freedom fighters were in support of President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term ambition and that MEND’s adoption of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Buhari and the accusation that the IYC and other Niger-Delta groups were politicised, was baseless and of no correlation with the real ex-agitators whose position and support for President Jonathan remained solid and unshakable.
Omare condemned their assertion that President Jonathan had promoted corruption in office, describing it as a campaign of calumny and cries of those that were already drown. He added that President Jonathan was the most transparent leader Nigeria ever had.
According to him, “Ordinarily, the IYC would have ignored the so-called MEND statement, as since the acceptance of amnesty by Ex-Niger Delta Agitators, the name MEND is now used by anybody on the streets in Nigeria for any purpose that suits the person.
The statement reads “MEND of today is no more the original MEND that was formed by Ex-Agitators in the Niger-Delta region to fight for the emancipation of the region. ‘‘We strongly believe that with this adoption by fake MEND, the stage is now set for blood-thirsty insurgent group, Boko Haram, that has killed thousands of innocent Nigerians in the Northern part of the country to adopt General Buhari as its presidential candidate.
This has confirmed the long-held belief of many Nigerians that General Buhari had sympathy for blood-thirsty insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and the present MEND.
The IYC spokesman averred that the injustice against the people of the Niger-Delta, which led to the agitation, was foisted on them through the successive administrations of people from the born to rule clan of General Buhari, ‘‘therefore, it is a contradiction for the original MEND, which claimed to be fighting for the Niger-Delta region, to adopt the continuation of the injustice against the Niger-Delta region.’’
Omare reiterated that the real Niger-Delta freedom fighters are in support of President Jonathan’s second term ambition as demonstrated in the massive rally they held in his support at Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State in November, 2014 under the leadership of Alhaji Asari Dokubo, Pastor Reuben and others.
To this end, he posited that the Niger-Delta people are solidly behind President Jonathan’s re-election bid as we believe that he has performed creditably during his first term and deserved a second term in office.
Also, Ex-Agitators have also condemned the purported adoption of General Buhari, describing it as the handiwork of political element sponsored by the All Progressive Congress (APC) to misconstrue facts.
Eris Paul aka Ogunboss, said the endorsement of Buhari is laughable and that they were paid by Former Governor in Bayelsa State and serving Governor of a South-South state, that we have decided to adopt a non-violent approach to the 2015 polls should not be seen as cowardice, as we will not hesitate to march the pseudo MEND arms for arms and bomb for bombs.
Source: #Tribune News.
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