A group that
recently split from Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a militant organization that
has claimed responsibility for bombing numerous oil facilities, has claimed
that
former President Goodluck Jonathan was the grand patron of the NDA.
In a statement
issued today by Cynthia Whyte, an alias for a male spokesman, the splinter
group also named several former and serving governors as sponsors of the Niger
Delta Avengers. Those named as “sponsors” included Governors Nyesom Wike of
Rivers State and Seriaki Dickson of Bayelsa.
Mr. Whyte also
identified Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State,
ex-militant turned contractor, Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo), Raymond
Dokpesi, the founder of African Independent Television (AIT), the Indigenous
Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Kingsley Kuku, Kimi Angozi, and Patrick Akpobolokemi
as other sponsors.
The splinter group,
which renamed itself Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA), had recently
declared its opposition to NDA’s destruction of oil infrastructure in the
region, warning that it would disclose the names of individuals and groups
backing the militant group.
Mr. Whyte’s
statement revealed that the NDA’s sympathizers included Edwin K. Clark, Tony
Uranta, Daniel Alabrah, Ms. Annkio Briggs, and Olisa Metuh, a former spokesman
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Reformed Niger
Delta Avengers named Oyege Nimi Brown, VIP Timothy, Joshua Macaiver, Paul
Bebenimibo and others as the main operatives of the NDA, adding that Udengs
Eradiri, the president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), also known as Brigadier
General Murdoch Agbinibo, serve as the NDA’s chief spokesman.
Following the release
of the list, a source close to former President Jonathan told
SaharaReporters
that there was “no iota of truth to the claim that former President Goodluck
Jonathan has a hand in the violence in the Niger Delta.”
The source, who
asked not to be identified, said he was in touch with Mr. Jonathan, adding that
the former president was considering issuing a formal statement to dismiss theclaims made by Mr. Whyte.
“If former President
Jonathan wanted chaos in Nigeria and the Niger Delta, he would have refused to
concede the election to General Buhari and the APC,” the source said.
Source: [NAIJALOADED]




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