N-Delta Ethnic Nationalities, Ex-militants Warn Against Rigging, Endorse Peter Obi

Leaders and representatives of former militants, and a new think-tank of oil–bearing ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta have thrown their weight behind the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, and his running mate, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.

In a communiqué by self–styled General Commander, Tabu Obriki, and others for the constituent members, Conference of Ex-Militants of Niger Delta for Industrial Rebirth, CENDIR, and Elder Timi Kaiser-Wilhelm Ogoriba, TK, for the Oil Producing Ethnic Nationalities for Good Governance, OPEN-GG, they warned against polls rigging and result manipulation in the region.

Oporoza House, Ijaw Leadership Stakeholders Working Group, Movement for Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality of the Niger Delta, Ogoni Renaissance, Urhobo Progress Vanguard, Edo Posterity Summit, and Isoko Equity Agenda are among those that certified the Obi/Baba-Ahmed ticket.

Others are Kalabari Vision Vanguard, Ndokwa Progress Roundtable, Ondo Akatapa Oil, and Gas Watch, Niger Delta Coast Guards, Niger Delta Riverine Security Network, and Niger Delta Congress.

The communiqué read in part: “That we have diligently, clinically and objectively undertaken a study of the political manifesto, character, competence, capacity, and virtues of the four major presidential candidates of the oncoming election scheduled to hold across Nigeria on February 25, 2023.

“Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party has the highest governance intelligence quotient, creative industrial competence, resourceful innate integrity, compassionate potentialities, and propensity to decisively implement practical solutions to the well-documented myriads of leadership failure, epic environmental degradation, and traumatic corruption, which have impeded real development of our Niger Delta region for too long.

“Having come to that unanimous and unequivocal conclusion, we hereby passionately appeal to every ex-militant, youth, women group, and leadership of ethnic nationalities of the region to come to terms with the rationales we have given above.

“Accordingly, we ask you to join us deliver every scrap of ballot paper that arrives on the soil, shores, creeks, cities, towns, camps, and hamlets of our Niger Delta region for Mr. Peter Obi,  and his amiable running mate, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as the next President and Vice President of Nigeria.

The ethnic nationalities and ex-militants gave reasons why they rejected Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP.