Abuja—The National President of Niger Delta Nonviolence Agitators Forum (NDNAF), Wisdom Ikuli has urged Ijaw elders and leaders to wade into the disagreement over the surveillance contract that was reportedly awarded to Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo by the Federal Government.
He stated that the surveillance contract was awarded to Tompolo based on his track record of executing and delivering a similar job.
In a statement sent to mangrovepen.ng, Ikuli noted that though the news of the re-award generated so much controversy, Tompolo is not the sole contractor.
“It is a known fact that Captain Hosa and others were also executing similar contracts without any uproar. Most of our people who managed the project with Captain Hosa kept it to themselves alone and nobody made any noise.
“From the antecedents of Tompolo, he has never withheld opportunities to himself alone, rather he believes in sharing and allowing same to go round.
“Tompolo has remained one of the unifying factors in the contemporary struggle for the emancipation cum liberation of our great people from economic and political servitude. He has remained one of the symbols of our Neo-Ijawness,” he said.
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He appealed to Ijaw elders and leaders especially the leaderships of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to reach out to all the critical stakeholders to ensure that a paltry N4billion monthly surveillance contract does not disunite or tear the entire Ijaw Nation apart.
According to him, “our brotherhood especially our Ijawness is far more valuable and more precious than the crumbs and peanuts that if not properly managed may set brothers against each other.
“The Federal Government and the IOCs have taken away hundreds of billions of dollars from Ijaw land since the discovery of crude oil and gas at Oloibiri-Otabagi in 1956.
“Presently, the Federal Government and the IOCs take away hundreds of millions of Dollars from the whole Ijaw land daily, so what is #4Billion monthly job compared to the above figures?”
While appealing for the inclusion of critical stakeholders, he urged leaders of various groups to call their followers to order especially to restrain from making provocative statements that are capable of setting everywhere on fire.
Ikuli who admonished Ijaw people to be weary of several plots to divide the Ijaw nation added that Ijaws should use their influence to “position our people strategically in the leading political parties so that the interest of the Ijaw nation can be protected at all levels.”
