A militant
leader in the Niger Delta region, ‘General’ Don Waney, emerged from the creeks
on Monday and warned members of the Niger Delta Avengers and other militant
groups not to come close to Rivers State.
Waney, who
said he was ready to surrender his arms and ammunition and embrace the amnesty
offered by the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, also urged militant groups in
the oil rich region, including NDA, to embrace peace and put an end to the
destruction of oil facilities.
The militant
leader, who is the leader of the Aggrieved Youth Movement said in Aligwu,
Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area on Monday, that he would fight any
militant group that decided to make Rivers its target.
Explaining
that the state cannot achieve any form of development without peace, Waney
added that his group was not into kidnapping or any form of violence.
He stated that
his group were only agitated as a result of youth unemployment, lack of
technical training for manpower development, scholarships, widespread poverty, and
lack of basic social infrastructure, among others.
According to
the militant leader, “On a strong note, we are non-violent and we shall remain
so in our collective agitation for a better ONELGA (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA),
Orashi and Rivers State.
“In the light
of this, we call on the Niger Delta Avengers group to leave ONELGA and Orashi
region out of their targets.
“We are
against the bombing and destruction of vital oil and gas installations in our
communities. We shall not allow them or any of their type to enter our land.
“We want peace
and development and that is what we have signed with our governor, Nyesom Wike.
Rivers State is peaceful and we do not want outsiders to cause crisis and
general insecurity in our state again.”
Commending the
state governor for offering amnesty to repentant militants, Waney expressed the
need for other aggrieved groups to surrender their arms and embrace peace in
order to ensure the growth of Niger Delta.
He said, “We
have, accordingly, accepted amnesty gesture the government has granted us. We
salute the governor for his love, for the sanctity of lives of some young
people, who may have been deceived in the past.
“We believe
that the amnesty will go a long way to transform for good, the lives of these
youngsters. We hereby call on other armed groups to embrace the amnesty
programme and give up militancy so that together, we can benefit from the
development strides of the Rivers State Government.
He, however,
urged the Federal Government to consider repentant militants in the region and
ensure that the post-amnesty programme covered oil and gas producing
communities.
Earlier in his
remark, the President of Omoku youths, Mr. Kingsley Nonye, pleaded with the
warring factions in the local government area to forget their differences and
allow peace to reign.
Nonye also
urged oil companies in ONELGA not to neglect the youths, even as he appealed to
them to be serious with their corporate social responsibilities.
He observed
that the multinational oil firms were using divide-and-rule tactic to deal with
the youths of ONELGA, urging to desist from such act.
Nonye said,
“There has been total negligence on the part of the Federal Government and the
oil companies operating in ONELGA. They
should understand we are the highest oil producing area. We have been contributing immensely to the
economy of the country.
“Today, we
have poverty at a very high level, unemployment, no health care system. Our
challenges are too many to mention. But in the name of peace, we call on the
Federal Government and companies to come and develop our city.” PUNCH
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