Yenagoa—Chairman of the Third Phase Niger Delta Ex-Agitators, Comr. Tonye Bobo has described as laughable and uncalled for the 5-day ultimatum and threat issued to the management team of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the Coalition of Ex-agitators of Niger Delta (CEND).
Recall that the ex-agitators on Thursday had issued a 5-day ultimatum to the management of the NDDC to vacate the commission or face severe consequences.
CEND, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Gen. Daboikiabo Alalibo stated that the team led by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku is occupying their offices illegally, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had dissolved all parastatals and agencies of the federal government, including the NDDC.
The ex-agitators specifically warned that if the management failed to leave the office, they would occupy the commission and disrupt the activities of the NDDC.
But reacting to the threat, Tonye Bobo in a statement made available to Mangrovepen.ng on Saturday, described the threats as laughable, noting that there is no genuine ex-agitators forum that goes by that name.
Bobo who described the group as faceless said it is being created by “retrogressive Niger Delta leaders who are bent on causing disaffection amongst the people of our region to achieve some selfish ends.”
He further said, “The malicious trend of sponsoring unguarded statements with pseudo groups by desperate Niger Delta leaders needs to stop, as the sponsors do not mean well for the region.”
The statement continued: “There is no known ex-freedom fighter called Gen. Daboikiabo Alalibo, so the threat against the Dr. Samuel Ogbuku-led NDDC management team is a mere noise that will only end in the media space.
“Niger Deltans and indeed all Nigerians would recall vividly when the Federal Government directed MD/CEOs of various government agencies and parastatals to continue to hold sway, pending the constitution of a new board.
“Therefore, it’s unreasonable for any individual or group to call for the sack of the current NDDC management team that is even performing well.
“We should stop this pull-him-down syndrome that seems to be deep-rooted. We should rather encourage our leaders to do more for the region.”
The ex-militant leader admonished the NDDC boss not to be distracted by the media attacks but to remain focused on the task of developing the region.
“We urge him to keep discharging his statutory duties creditably to change the developmental narratives of our region,” Bobo said.