Militant group begs Jonathan for amnesty
The group also wants the federal government, through the office of the minister in charge of Niger Delta Ministry, special adviser to the president on Niger Delta Affairs, SSS, and men of the Joint Military Task Force, as well as the Edo State government and other relevant stakeholders, to be fully represented on the yet-to-be announced date for their disarmament.
Addressing journalists Tuesday at Gelegele, leader and commander of the 600-strong militant group, Richard Obey, said that they were embracing the federal amnesty programme because "we want the development of Gelegele Seaport and we don't want to constitute a stumbling block to the immediate take-off of the N68 billion project.
"Secondly, we don't want to be left out of the laudable development programme of the federal government. So, we have taken the decision not to remain as militants in the creeks, to enable the federal government achieve the Vision 2020 and that of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He, however, lamented the backwardness of Gelegele since the beginning of oil exploration in 1987, saying that it had been a sad story of misery and cry for justice, equity and fairness.
Mr Obey added, "What the Dubril Oil Nigeria Ltd has in the community is its gas flare point situated at the middle of the community, with nothing else to show for it."
He attributed the poor information dissemination and poor handling of the amnesty programme by those saddled with it as reasons why it took them so long to embrace the programme.
"This time, we now understand that embracing amnesty and the political sanity in the country is the surest way to development. We have seen the handwriting on the wall, and this we regard as the right step in the right direction to a lasting peace in the Niger Delta and an avenue for the physical, human, socio-cultural, educational and infrastructure development of the region," he stressed.
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