The NDL said the militants were not happy with the decision to take $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account by President Buhari’s administration in 2019 to acquire heavy weapons to fight the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East.
Militant groups from the nine states of the Niger Delta
region, known as the Niger Delta Liberators, have again put on red alert the
multinational oil companies operating in the region of their planned resumption
of hostilities in the area.
The NDL warned them to evacuate their workers from rigs, platforms and manifolds.
The liberators also called on international communities and
world leaders to “as a matter of urgency call on their fellow citizens that are
working with the multinational oil companies to vacate the creeks of the Niger
Delta region before the “heavyweight of the NDL Special Trained Striking Force
Unit falls on them.”
The NDL, in a statement issued in Yenagoa and signed by
Benjamin Owei, also known as Sea Lord, gave this warning, saying the Nigerian
government must meet all their demands after they earlier issued a 21-day
ultimatum.
The statement reads in part, “All foreign nationals working
in the creeks with all the multinational oil companies are at this moment
advised to leave the region as all our unit commanders have been put on a red
alert to resume operation zero oil production in this new fresh demand.
“The oil facilities listed for destruction are; the Chevron
major oil platforms, Shell major oil pipelines and the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation gas pipelines that distribute from Escravos-Warri-
Kaduna-Lagos and also supply to Abuja.
“We will bring them all down until our demands are met
through proper engagement from the Federal Government or else, not going back
on the 21-day ultimatum issued earlier.
“And we are going to occupy all the platforms, locations and
major crude oil pipelines until we see a proper channel of engagement from the
Federal Government through these agencies mentioned above, the NNPC Group
Managing Director and most especially the newly appointed Amnesty Coordinator
who has promised President Muhammadu Buhari that he was going to engage all the
aggrieved militant groups and stakeholders.”
The NDL said the militants were not happy with the decision
to take $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account by President Buhari’s
administration in 2019 to acquire heavy weapons to fight the Boko Haram
insurgents in the North East.
“This is wicked and insensitive to the peace accord signed
with the people of the Niger Delta region,” the group added.
The militants also demanded the urgent release of the N98
billion gas flare penalty fund to the host communities of the Niger Delta which
are funds domiciled into the federation account through the Central Bank of
Nigeria and multinational oil companies as payment to compensate the communities
being affected by the activities of the IOCs.
The statement further said, “NDL rejects the proposed N13
trillion-plus budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigerians which
did not capture any tangible and significant human capital development projects
for the oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta region – the region whose
crude oil will be used to finance the so-called budget.”
Also, the NDL demanded that the proposed 2021 budget, which
appropriated billions of naira to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator
Godswill Akpabio, and the Niger Delta Development Commission should be
withdrawn and put on hold until a substantive board of the NDDC is inaugurated
and sworn in by President Buhari.
The militants ended with a chilling warning that failure of the government to accede to their demands would “witness massive destruction of oil pipelines, oil facilities and installations across the length and breadth of the Niger Delta region in a well-coordinated attack tagged “Cripple the Economy with Zero Crude Oil Production.” There will be no more oil funds to finance the 2021 budget.”
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