The Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomole, on Wednesday condemned the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers, saying their activities are more harmful to the Niger Delta than the Federal Government they claim to be fighting.
Oshiomole noted that destruction of pipelines and other violent activities are only scaring away investors and causing more environmental problems for the region. The governor told State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari that the country deserved respect from all its constituents, adding that no part of the country can do without the others.
He called on political elites in the country to help in promoting and strengthening the bridge of unity in the country, rather than exploiting the country’s fault lines to create more division. “I don’t think the state should submit to blackmail from any quarters. For me, I think the state should be respected. I believe in Nigeria, no part can do without the other. I believe our unity is not negotiable. “I believe the responsibility of the political elite is to strengthen the bridge of unity; to discourage preaching hatred; discourage amplifying weak points, and work to strengthen those points. I salute our armed forces for what they are doing, and the confidence they have brought back to our security,’’ the governor said. He added that President Buhari has shown leadership and determination to keep the country going, adding “for once, we are enjoying respect in world capitals, in different continents’’.
He called on all Nigerians, particularly the people of the South-South region, to support and cooperate with the Buhari-led administration in his efforts to transform the country. “We don’t need to be security experts to accept the universal truth that wherever there is insecurity, there will be no investment because no investor will go to where is unsafe. And where there is no investment, poverty will be endemic, because there will be no job for our people. “I appeal to all of us in the South South, we need to wake up; it is for our own self-interest that we make the region the most investor- friendly. The assets being destroyed is not just national assets, it is our own assets. It is what makes the South-South the hub of the Nigerian economy,” he stated.
He said those destroying oil pipelines are compounding the problem of pollution in the Niger Delta, as the cost of cleaning up the environment and making it attractive either for fishing, farming or other business, is huge. The governor, who commended the President for his commitment to the cleanup of Ogoniland and other polluted areas in the Niger Delta, urged the people of the region to work together and encourage the present administration.
