The elderly men alleged that some government officials are preventing the possibility of peace talks holding between the Federal Government on one hand and the new militant groups led by the Niger Delta Avengers on the other hand.
The men who hail from the South-south region said this is highly frustrating
The Bayelsa elders said although President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to head the proposed peace talks was highly welcomed but Buhari’s aides’ show of deception, fraud and variant tunes have created a big gap between the militant youths and the current government.
Niger Delta Avengers
The elders, who are members of Bayelsa Elders for Progress, Peace and Good Governance (BEPGG), made this known through a statement issued by their coordinator,Ayibatonye Goodnews, and secretary, Lucky Ebifaghe.
They insisted that the present activities of major presidential aides from the South-south region, including Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, and the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Program, Brigadier General Paul Boroh, were making the dialogue impossible.
In an open letter, BEPGG advised President Buhari to“investigate the genuineness of purported meetings held between the Presidential Amnesty boss, Paul Boroh, and Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.”
They also said: “How can they claim to have met stakeholders and the militant attacks continue? They met some fake militants and stakeholders and wasted scarce resources of the Federal Government on [a] jamboree.”
The group alleged tha General Boroh, who is in charge of the federal government’s amnesty program, of falsely claiming to have relocated to the creeks of the region.
According to the Bayelsa elders, the amnesty chief “was only sighted in Tompolo’s community [holding] clandestine meetings without any solution to the continued bombing of the oil and gas facilities.”
BEPGG advised the president toinvestigae how money was“expended on the jamboree without result. We insist that the Presidential Amnesty Office should be probed following the alleged failed sharing of resources to fake Avengers.”
The elders and traditional rulers further stated, “The lack of knowledge on key issues of the region and wrong signals sent to militants along the creeks are frustrating the needed peace process. Many of the purported stakeholders have made money from the self-created jamboree in the region. Genuine Niger Delta stakeholders should be consulted for sustained peace.”
They however praised the president’s decision to head the proposed peace talk between the government of the federation and stakeholders from the area.
In their own words, they believe the dialogue would bring in“needed peace and growth in the region.”
In a news going round the town on Friday, July 8, Elders in the Niger Delta region threw their weight in support of the administration of President Buhari as they said Buhari has done more in a year than Goodluck Jonathan did
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