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| Nigeria ex President, Goodluck Jonathan |
Elderly personalities from Bayelsa State on Monday, called on
security agencies to investigate and arrest persons behind the linkage of
former President Goodluck Jonathan to the notorious militant group, the Niger
Delta Avengers (NDA).
The elders from Ogbia,
Jonathan’s Local Government Area, asked security agencies to rise up to the
occasion and apprehend economic saboteurs, vandals and militants in the Niger
Delta region.
The elders under the aegis of
Ogbia Brotherhood said “it was unfair for anybody to sponsor a campaign of
calumny against the former President”
Speaking in a press conference in Yenagoa, the state capital,
the National Chairman of the group, Chief Benson Agadaga, described the
allegations against Jonathan as dangerous, spurious and wild.
Also referring to persons
behind the accusation as mischief makers and faceless group, Agadaga said the
allegation was false, baseless, mischievous and wicked.
He urged the Reformed Niger
Delta Avengers (RNDA) which made the allegation to look elsewhere for its
uncanny campaign of calumny.
He said there was a criminal and devilish intention and cheap
propaganda to rubbish the political status of the former president.
“It is unthinkable that the
former President by an iota of imagination could be linked with sponsoring or
even establishing an armed outfit like the Niger Delta Avengers to antagonize
the Federal Government where he has just served as President by the goodwill of
all Nigerians.
“May I add with unequivocal
terms that the allegation lacks substance and does not bear true reflection or
semblance to the nature, original beliefs and intent of the prominent son of
Ogbia who holds the revered title as Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria”, he said.
He described the former
President as an embodiment of peace and stability, adding that from his
antecedents, pedigree and actions, Jonathan was a firm believer in the sanctity
of life and the unity and prosperity of Nigeria as an indivisible entity.
He said: “The Niger Delta
cannot benefit anything by eliminating or frustrating Dr. Jonathan, our only
national and international voice.
“Dr. Jonathan’s commitment to
the sanctity of life is further demonstrated by the fact that throughout his
tenure as Governor of Bayelsa state and as President of the country; there were
no reported cases of extra-judicial killings and high profile assassinations.
“If MEND is in existence and
wants to ‘emancipate’ the Niger Delta, as the name implies, then surely the
right way to go is not through sinister moves to pull down and eliminate the
divinely given and anointed personalities of their own region.”
He called on the attackers call
to stop persecuting, blackmailing, mudslinging and campaigning against Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan.
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