Tompolo: I insist Nigeria ’ll break if Jonathan loses

FORMER Niger Delta militants seem unrepentant on
their widely condemned stand that there will be
trouble should President Goodluck Jonathan lose
the February 14 election.
Among those who condemned the former militants’
stand is one time Defence Minister Lt.-Gen.
Theophilus Danjuma, who said war mongers
should be arrested.
But yesterday, former Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader
Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) restated
the threat he issued along with other ex-militant
leaders in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The threat, said to have been issued in the
presence of Bayelsa State Governor Seriake
Dickson and the Special Adviser to President
Jonathan on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, has
been widely condemned.
Tompolo attacked Gen. Danjuma, former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, leader of the All Progressives
Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and all perceived
enemies of President Jonathan, who he insisted
must win to avert a crisis.
He said: “Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts should
know that I remain resolute on my position in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, that President Goodluck
Jonathan must win this election for Nigeria to
continue to stay together.”
Besides, Tompolo, in the statement signed by his
Media Adviser, Mr Paul Bebenimibo, in Warri
yesterday, accused the former Army chief of being
behind the stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan
in Katsina and Bauchi states.
Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda said Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) members were behind the
stoning of the President’s convoy in Bauchi.
Tompolo warned that Nigeria was already on the
brink of disintegration in the wake of the expiration
of the 1914 amalgamation treaty, hinting that the
defeat of President Jonathan could be the final nail
on the coffin.
Said he: “Gen. Danjuma should be reminded that
the devilish treaty that brought the Southern and
Northern Protectorates together in 1914 expired
last year. Danjuma and his likes, such as Gen.
Buhari, Gen. Obasanjo and Mr. Bola Tinubu, should
be grateful to President Jonathan who has been
keeping this country together.
”If not for President Jonathan, Nigeria would not
have been any more. Danjuma and his cohorts
should be reminded of the saying that ‘those who
live in glass house should not throw stones’.
”The call by Gen. T.Y Danjuma (rtd) to arrest me
and other agitators for a better living for the
people of the Niger Delta region is an indication
that he is behind terrorism in the North eastern
part of the country as well as the stoning of
President Jonathan’s convoy in Kastina and Bauchi
states, because he has never condemned those
acts, even though Boko Haram attacked churches
and mosques in his home town.
”Is Gen. Danjuma not aware of the peaceful
atmosphere when Gen. Buhari visited Delta, Rivers
and Bayelsa (home state of the President) states
for campaign? Why is it that President Jonathan’s
convoy was attacked in Kastina and Bauchi states
without any provocation?
“Who is Gen. Danjuma if not for the oil wealth he
is enjoying from the Niger Delta? He should be
rather arrested for being behind terrorism in the
North.
“Where was Danjuma when Mallam Ciroma Adamu
threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable, if
President Jonathan defeated the All Progressive
Congress Presidential candidate, Gen.
Muhammedu Buhari? Where was this so called
statesman when the APC campaign Director
General (DG), Mr. Rotimi Ameachi threatened to
form a parallel government if President Jonathan
wins the 2015 elections? Where was this hypocrite
when Dr. Junaid Muhammed, Muhammedu Buhari
and Atiku Abubakar all said in separate interviews
that the nation will boil if Jonathan won the
election in 2011?
“Is it the interest of Nigeria Gen. Danjuma is
protecting or his oil bloc in the Niger Delta? Is it
the interest of Nigeria Danjuma is protecting or his
50 million dollars donation to Gen. Buhari for his
campaign?
”Let Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts know that they
will not see any Ijaw man, the Igbos and others to
fight on their side if the war that they are planning
broke up,” he added.
The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), in a statement
circulated by its spokesman, Eric Omare, said the
former defense chief’s call fell short of such
expected from a statesman, expedition viewed
against the background of the fact that he failed to
comment while President Jonathan’s campaign
train was consistently attacked in some northern
states.
The IYC, which claimed to be in the meeting in the
Bayelsa state’s Government House where the
threats were allegedly issued, also described the
reports of threat as misleading as such was never
part of the meeting’s resolutions.
The group however called on security agencies in
the country to ignore the calls from General
Danjuma and the opposition All Progressives’
Congress (APC) for the arrest of the former militant
leaders as they were borne out of misleading
reports.
“We are surprised that General Danjuma swiftly
called for the arrest of Tompolo, Asari and other
Niger-Deltans, whereas he has neither condemned
nor called for the arrest of those who have been
consistently attacking the convoy of President
Jonathan in the northern part of the country.
General Danjuma’s call is not deserving of an
elder statesman who is supposed to be unbiased
rather than his obvious bias against the Niger-
Delta people. Only yesterday, in Gombe State a
supporter of President Jonathan who was pasting
his posters was attacked and seriously brutalised.
Why has General Danjuma not condemned this
dastardly act if he is really an elder statement?
“There was no time at the meeting the Governor of
Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, with youth
leaders and ex-Niger Delta freedom fighters where
it was resolved that Niger Delta people would
destabilise Nigeria, if President Jonathan fails the
February 14, 2015 presidential election. This did
not form part of the resolutions of the meeting,
which were read out by Hon. Kingsley Kuku for
Governor Dickson to transmit to Mr. President.
“The meeting was called by the Governor of
Bayelsa State, to solicit support for President
Jonathan from Niger-Delta youths and ex-freedom
fighters. However, the meeting frowned at and its
dissatisfaction with the persistent attack on the
campaign convoy of President Jonathan in some
northern states when General Buhari, his main
opponent, was protected and campaigned freely in
the south during his campaign tour. Hence, the
meeting condemned in the strongest terms the
attack on President Jonathan and resolved that
nobody can intimidate President Jonathan out of
the presidential race. At the meeting, all the youth
leaders and ex-Niger Delta freedom fighters
resolved to put their grievances aside and agree to
work for the re-election of President Jonathan.
“Therefore, the report on ex-militants threatening
to destabilise Nigeria in the event of President
Jonathan losing the 2015 election is not part of the
resolution of the meeting. The meeting could not
have discussed that as we are confident that
President Jonathan would win the February 14,
2015 presidential election.
“We, therefore, call on Nigerians and the security
agencies to disregard the call for arrest of
Tompolo, Asari and others, which is based on a
misleading report. The accusation levelled against
President Jonathan by the APC is also unfounded,”
the statement said.
A former Minister of Defence (State), Dr Rowland
Oritsejafor, called for caution over threats on the
outcome of next month’s election, stressing that
President Jonathan does not support violence.
Oritsejafor, who spoke to reporters in Warri, Delta
State, remarked that that the initial threat was
reportedly issued at the Bayelsa State Government
House does not mean that it was the position of
the Governor Seriake Dickson, or that of the PDP.
He said, “I can be invited to Aso Rock and then I
make a statement; does that mean that the
president supported what I said? Let us be very
clear, PDP is a peaceful government with well-
respected and responsible people. There is no way
the PDP would support violence.
“Some people are making statements. I cannot
come and defend those statements because I don’t
know from where they are coming and I wasn’t
there. However, as far as PDP is concerned, we
will pursue peace and it is in our interest to pursue
peace.
“So why would we want to invest in violence when
we have opportunity to show what we can do? You
can hear the President going round, it is all about
what he has done and he keeps rolling them out.”
Pressed for reaction on the failure of security
agencies and the Federal Government to take
action on the threat, Oritsejafor conceded that he
“would be worried if nothing is being done about
it, but I don’t have the information and you have to
be very careful when it comes to security.”
“You don’t know what they are doing, except you
have done your investigation. If nothing is being
done, that is unfortunate and I need to find out,”
Oritsejafor added.
The leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer
Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, also
yesterday, replied Gen. Danjuma in an abusive
manner calling for his and other ex-militant
leaders’ arrest for making provocative and
inflammatory statements on Jonathan’s re-
election.
Dokubo-Asari, an indigene of Buguma, the
headquarters of the Asari-Toru Local Government
Area of Rivers State and a former President of the
Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), spoke yesterday by the
telephone, said: “Danjuma is a big…
“How can a … call for my arrest?
“I was misquoted. I did not make any provocative
statement in Yenagoa and I did not threaten
anybody. President Jonathan has already won the
election.”
In Dokubo-Asari’s view with the “impressive”
performance of President Jonathan, there is
nothing to worry about.