From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A group, Coalition of Freedom Fighters in Niger Delta (CFFND) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to release the peace agreement signed with ex- militants’ while granting them amnesty so as to ensure peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
According to them, it is unacceptable that the Federal Government of Nigeria has not shown the willingness to tackle the underlying issues in the region with regards to the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region.
CFFND noted that to solve the lingering problem in the region, the Federal Government needs to implement the recommendation by the government-appointed committee to ensure peaceful in the region that produces 95 per cent of the oil and gas revenues that sustain the country.
The group statement signed by Owutorubofa Idi-Amin aka General Invisible and Otutuwari Henry, aka General Boro Never Die said if their demands are not met they would resort to doing things their own way
The statement reads: “We the Coalition of Freedom Fighters in the Niger Delta region want to see the infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region according to the original master plan initiated by late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, as it is in the Presidential Amnesty programme which is also called the ‘Peace Agreement’ that the government and representatives have refused to disclose to us. After the release of the document, the government should call for an enlarged stakeholders meeting for the region to further discuss the proper implementation of the agreement.
“This should be done for the peaceful co-existence in the country so as to have a peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections. Using non-beneficiaries for the beneficiaries’ slots should be avoided.
“The objective of the amnesty programme is to maintain peace and security in the region; enhance human capital development in the region and the amnesty programme is to provide the enabling environment for people in the region to key into the programme and achieve development. But these basic objectives have been frustrated by the key players, hence pipelines vandalism of crude oil and gas could not be stopped.
“We believed that the programme was structured to achieve these. Even as we speak, we don’t exactly know the stage at which the programme is; either disarmament or mobilisation process, rehabilitations/Action Plan for the holistic development of the Niger Delta as a region.
“If these demands are not met before the end of September, we have no option but to do what we have in mind.”