Sack your N/D Appointees, ex-militant tells Buhari

Israel Akpodoro, former militant leader has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack all political appointees from the Niger Delta in his administration if they fail to help resolve the ongoing militancy in the region soon.

Speaking with Independent in a telephone interview on Tuesday, Akpodoro, the National President of the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators (NCNDE-A), said that the region needs more purposeful and visionary leaders as against the present crop of political appointees who he said are too proud to serve the people.

He said, “We need visionary and purposeful leaders as against the present ones that are selfish and proud.”

Akpodoro condemned what he described as non-challant attitude by all political appointees of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Niger Delta region towards resolving the issues surrounding the renewed agitation in the region.

He alleged that the political appointees from the region, who are serving in the present administration, have been isolating themselves from the youths in their bid to resolve the renewed hostilities.

According to the Urhobo-born ex-warlord, the supposed APC leaders had shown little or no interest in resolving the crises in the region and when seeming interest was shown the leaders deliberately undermine those he called APC youth leaders from the region, adding that such moves were inimical to peace in that part of the country.

The practitioners of violence in the region, according to him, were the youth population and resolving such crises as it concerns pipeline vandalism, oil bunkering, sea piracy, kidnapping, sea robbery, among others, must include inputs from the youths.

He lamented that the political appointees had been ignoring calls and text messages from the people in the region. “Leaders from other regions of the federation pick their calls promptly and carefully, they hear you out. But APC appointees from the Delta feel too big to talk to you.

“This was what accounted for the failure of one of them at the poll early this year. A candidate of a party standing election and refusing to pick his calls even on the day of the election, how do you expect him to win? Pride and arrogance is the bane of APC leaders from the region.”
Ejikeme Omenazu

Lagos

Independent newspaper.