Date Published: 10/16/09

Niger Delta: Avert fresh oil war, Okrika king cries out

MONARCH of Koniju, an Okrika Kingdom, in Rivers State, Nemi Tamuno Iyalla, and his chiefs have warned against fresh hostilities in the volatile Niger Delta, saying Abuja should be seen to be doing what citizens of the oil and gas region want.

The royal father who was speaking in an interview with WatchDog Reporters however, commended the Federal Government for the amnesty and for the gradual reconstruction and peace process in the region.

“We appreciate government on the amnesty thank him and we accept it. The president has so tried that without him we would not have gotten the amnesty at this moment of the crisis,” he said he however opined that the gains of the amnesty and progress made toward peace building would be lost if efforts were not fastened to meaningfully engage the repentant militants and other Niger Delta Jobless youths’’, he said.

“My advice is that as these boys have dropped guns let them find something to engage them so that they will not revert to type because without jobs, poverty hunger, anger and restiveness will result,” he cancelled.

Some of his chiefs who were with him included chiefs Camphel Orufumgbe, Derebie Ofokome and Jackson Monju who also called on the Federal Government to demilitarize  the Niger Delta especially Okrika by withdrawing the special military security outfit, Joint Task Force (JTF), which the Okrika people alleged are still operating with impunity..

They  advised that  rather than keeping the JTF with huge national revenue, Government should begin to remedy the polluted waters and farm and had destroyed farming occupation, reconstruct roads and give out soft loans for some people to go back to fishing.

Earlier at a reception for Ateke Tom, the repentant insurgent leader had thanked the Koniju monarch and his kinsmen for accepting him back into their fold.

Ateke promised to contribute him quota development of Okrika, Rivers State and Nigeria and advised his followers to live in the new spirit of the amnesty and national understanding warning that he would personally hand over any of his boys that breached the protocol to the security Agencies.

In response, the Okrika monarch had commended Ateke for hearkening to his advice and finally embrace the amnesty.

“We are happy that we insistently talked to you and the boys to drop arm and violence and you finally did. We should now look forward to building peaceful society where everyone would move about freely and pursue his legitimate business,” the monarch said.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Executive Director of the Grassroots Initiative for peace and Democracy (GIPD) a civil society group, Mr Akinaka Richard who is also Ateke’s nephew commended the Federal Governmnet and Ateke for agreeing on amnesty.

“The current peace and dialogue is a positive development that will result in constructive engagements and development and we are happy that this organization was part of the process from the start,” Richard said.