The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Thursday threatened that it would declare a Niger Delta Republic on October 1 should President Muhammadu Buhari fail to restructure the country.
It also said the group was praying for the Buhari-led federal government to discover oil in commercial quantity in the northern part of the country.
NDA had claimed responsibility for major attacks on oil facilities in the region in recent past vowing not to relent until the nation’s economy was completely crippled.
The group’s spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, stated this on Thursday in reaction to President Buhari’s order directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to increase tempo on oil exploration in the North-East.
It said that the discovery of oil in commercial quantity would make Nigerians appreciate what the people of the Niger Delta experienced in the hands of the Nigerian government.
NDA reemphasised that the country was in dare need of restructuring. It accused the present government of dividing the country through her ‘misdirected policies’.
The militants said, “Our prayer for Buhari and the Northern hypocrite (Northern Governors) is that oil should be found in commercial quantity in the North, so they can let the Niger Delta go.
“The Buhari Led government has failed Nigerians with their misdirected policies that has divided the country, as such nobody wants to be part of that failed state not even the Niger Delta.”
The statement added further, “The October 1st, declaration of independence is still sacrosanct, If the Nigerian government fails to retrace its step by restructuring this country.
“We want to warn the general public that those using NDA to defraud people days of reckoning is close.”
– Source: Inside Business
