As the rampaging militants, under the aegis of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA),
continue to destroy oil and gas facilities, a clarion call has gone out to
the federal government to look beyond Tompolo as the mastermind of the
attacks.
Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), made the call,
advising the government to approach the issue holistically, by looking
critically at the fundamental issues raised by the Avengers and other
Niger Delta people.
These issues according to the foremost NGO include, the underdevelopment
of the region, environmental devastation, employment policies of the oil
companies, and the lopsided allocation of oil blocs to northerners.
The Center maintained that government continued focus on Tompolo as the
enemy of the state will continue to impact negatively on the economy and
implored government to do more of intelligence gathering to fish out
criminal elements.
CEPEJ noted that criminal elements have taken advantage of Tompolo’s saga
with the government to cause havoc in the region.
It accused the federal government of paying lip service to the fundamental
issues bedeviling the Niger Delta region, stating that the dialogue called
by the government should be truthful and not a Greek gift to assuage the
yearning of the agitators so that oil production could continue in the
area.
Coordinator of the group, Comrade Sheriff Mulade,The called for adequate
funding of the various interventionist agencies such the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Ministry, among others and
wondered why the Niger Delta master plan has taken so long to be
implemented.