The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) yesterday warned all foreign firms and their expatriates operating in the Niger Delta region to leave the area or face the consequences of staying put.
Also on the warning list of the militants are the two unions in the oil and gas industry, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) which the Avengers are imploring to “leave all oil fields and terminals” in the region because it is going to be dirty very soon.
A statement by the group’s spokesman, Muddoch Agbinibo gloated over various attacks being carried out on oil installations by the militants and denied that the Nigerian Navy arrested the NDA’s logistics supplier.
Agbinibo stated that the news of the arrest of Avengers logistics supplier by the Navy was “the biggest joker of the 21st century,” noting that the navy had lost its sense of professionalism as “any Tom, Dick and Harry is a suspect of Avengers.
“The Nigeria military arrested school students in Oporoza and called them NDA members, any criminal caught is NDA, even their business partners (illegal oil bunkers) are NDA, sea pirates are now NDA.”
Agbinibo dared the military, stating that officers of the military were living in a fool’s paradise by denying every major attack carried out on oil installations by the militants.
“When NDA carries out any major attack, they (military) will deny it. First was the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline that was blown. Second was the 48 inches Exxonmobil pipeline that was blown by NDA.
“Mobil and the government denied it. Only for Exxonmobil to declare false majeure few days after the attack. We want the general public to know that the Qua Iboe export pipeline is down right now.
“Let me give a little brief about the Qua Iboe export terminal. This is a subsidiary of Mobil and it the biggest export stream in Nigeria. They export one million barrel every two days. I, Agbinibo, personally led this operation. Unlike the Chief of Naval Staff that sits in the comfort of his office to pass orders,” he gloated.
He urged the military to stop “deceiving the public and their commander-in-chief. They should come out with the truth in Akwa-Ibom instead of saying Niger Delta Avengers did not blow up their line but system anomaly. Shame on the Nigeria Military.”
According to the statement, the NDA had intelligently gathered that members of the top military brass were using the flimsy arrest of members of the NDA to defraud government, adding that very soon, they would be exposed.
“Reports from our intelligence agent, the only way funds can be allocated to various departments of the military is only when they (military) arrest the Niger Delta Avengers operatives. But soonest, the Nigerian public and their commander-in-chief will know the military is not capable to handle the Niger Delta Avengers.
“How do you explain a military officer having a house in choice areas in Nigeria and outside the country? Nigeria serving and retired top officers are the richest people in Nigeria. How do they get such wealth? Right now, they are using Niger Delta Avengers to defraud the Nigeria government and taxpayers of their money.
“We want to make this clear, all Niger Delta Avengers operatives are intact, our intelligence agencies are all intact and our operative team are in high spirit because we are winning the war.
“Nigeria Navy cannot arrest any of our operative until we bring down the economy of this country.
We are warning NUPENG and PENGASSAN to leave all oil fields and terminals in the Niger Delta because it will be going to be dirty very soon. Foreigners are to leave too,” Agbinibo warned.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday confirmed that his administration was currently engaging the Niger Delta militants in talks in order to end the spate of destruction of crude oil facilities in the region.
He said the talks were being done through oil companies and law-enforcement agencies and were meant to find a lasting solution to insecurity in the region.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while granting farewell audience to the outgoing Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Zinner, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari added that the Federal Government was studying the instruments of the Amnesty Programme inherited from the previous administration, with a view to carrying out commitments made that were undelivered.
“We understand their feelings. We are studying the instruments. We have to secure the environment, otherwise investment will not come. We will do our best for the country,” the President was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has advised the Federal Government not to take lightly the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to intensify their attacks on foreigners and oil installations.
Already the latest threat was one of the issues discussed at the meeting between the government and PENGASSAN on Thursday.
The union also told international oil companies, which refused to respect its agreement with the government to leave the country, describing the refusal as an affront.
The President of PENGASSAN, Olabode Johnson, in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja, said the NDA’s threat would dominate discussions at its meeting with the government.
Johnson, who spoke at the third national conference of women in PENGASSAN, said, “In view of the issue on the ground, this is something we should take as priority. That kind of threat is not something that should be taken lightly.
“Whatever the issue, let the government look for a way to fast-track everything and discuss so that there can be peace in this country. This is not the time for us to start destroying ourselves and our properties and oil installations. We all need to work together as a country, so that Nigeria can rise from the ashes of what we are going through.”
Johnson explained that the strike by oil workers had only been suspended and might resume if the issues were not addressed properly. – The Sun, Punch.
