Obsolate MEND to Steer Clear, Niger Delta Avengers in Actions to Builld Niger Delta

NIGER DELTA YOUTH FORUM (NDYF)

PRESS RELEASE

MEND SHOULD STEER CLEAR FROM ANY NEGOTIATION WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

June 13 2016.

We are dismayed to read the media reports credited to the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND),
in which the group named a 7-Member Team that would dialogue with the federal government on the future of the Niger Delta region.

Niger Delta Avengers Arsenal

Much as we do not intend to question the integrity of the members, we want to categorically state that the MEND do not have the moral justification or leverage to announce a team to speak for the entire region.

We believe that the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) remain key players in any discuss with the federal government, and not MEND; since they have been responsible for the recent attacks on oil installations in the region.

It is surprising to see a group that had earlier condemned the actions of the Avengers to now come up with a list of names that would discuss with the federal government, when we all know that it is the operations of the Avengers that have compelled the government to once again opt to be on a roundtable and discuss critical issues that concern the Niger Delta region.

Nigerians and indeed Niger Deltans have not yet forgotten the many selfish and illicit moves made by members of the MEND while they fought to emancipate us from the Nigerian state. The kidnappings, sea piracy, illegal oil bunkering and killings are still very fresh in our memory.

Unlike the MEND, the Avengers have undertaken all their operations with good conscience and precision. Their has not been any news where they (the Avengers) were involved in hostage taking, sea piracy, illegal oil bunkering or any other criminal activity. The Avengers have since made it clear to the federal government that they will bring oil production down to 0% except their demands are met.

If the federal government is now ready to negotiate with them, then it is only expected of the Avengers in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the region to announce people that would represent us. We do not want this struggle to end in futility like the one that was spearheaded by the defunct MEND. Of course we also want dialogue to replace the present vandalism, but that cannot be without the Avengers playing a major role.

We, therefore, call on the MEND to steer clear from the process as the bulk of Niger Deltans now see them as a group of compromised mercenaries that only fight for their own selfish interest. The Niger delta region is too big for a fathom group like the MEND to abruptly announce who will represent us in a dialogue with the federal government.

Signed,

Comr. Ogidi Ben Bara
Nat'l Coordinator, NDYF.