The Niger Delta Patriotic Front (NDPF) has laid serious accusation against Mr Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo that he is the main sponsor of the Niger Delta Avengers.
The militant group has claimed responsibility for series of bombing of oil and gas pipelines in the region and has vowed to continue to do so until zero oil is produced in the region. The former militant has been accused of being a member of the Niger Delta Avenger due to his case with the federal government which has made him arraigned before a court in Lagos in absentia.
Tompolo who has been hiding since the government got a warrant for his arrest has written series of letter denying his involvement in the operation of the militants.
The coordinator of NDDF through Mr Joel Tamarakepreye who is the director of information of the group said in a statement released too Naij.com on Sunday, June 19 that Tompolo was the greatest sponsor of the Niger Delta Avengers.
The statement read: The Niger Delta Patriotic Front feels compelled to react to the latest round of vitriol, misinformation and outright falsehood being feed the general public by a group of brigands and attention seekers that the so called Niger Delta Avengers has proven to be. In other to set the records straight and expose the emptiness of this group of Niger Delta Cowards, their self-serving agenda and their desperation to attract media headlines and government attention for a political settlement for their personal crimes, the general public is called to ponder on the following: The NDA due to their low level of enlightenment and poor world view has finally unveiled its sponsors and sympathisers. Their sponsor is Tompolo and their greatest sympathiser is Ibe Kachukwu.
In their publications which are a poor effort at meaningful propaganda and decoy, they in one swoop called on Boyloaf, Ateke Tom and Tompolo to stay clear of any negotiation with the government on their behalf and in another swell they generalized by imputing the names of Timipre Sylva, Ayiri Emami and Boyloaf to stay clear of negotiations and focused on Boyloaf for the remainder of their press statement. Why are the cowardly NDA and Tompolo so fixated with Boyloaf, Ayiri and Timipre Sylva? The Niger Delta Patriotic Front has always maintained that this round of agitation by this group of Niger Delta Elements is solely meant for personal benefits and not in the larger interest of the Niger Delta Region. When they had a God’s given opportunity to impact positively on the region, by the countless favours and benefits they accessed from our Brother the former President, what did they do with it? Rather they cheated their own very community, unintelligently stole and diverted government funds like primitive men that they are and abused the privileges of their offices for personal gains. It is unfortunate that the Ijaw Nation has been on silent mode since this senseless criminal action orchestrated by Tompolo. By their silence, they have acquiesced to Tompolo’s madness, and they should remember what Ijaw stands for and know that the struggle for inclusion, environmental, economic and political rights of the Ijaw Nation cannot be championed by known thieves in the guise of freedom fighters and occasional resource control enthusiasts.
If we may ask, where was their Niger Delta fervour, in the 5 or so years of the past administration? If the entire nation and the international community must take the Niger Delta serious, we must have the conscience to call a spade a spade and be truthful to ourselves. The cowardly NDA, with the machination Delta State Deputy Governor, a known member of the NDA, and their sympathiser at the NNPC Towers, has tried over the past few weeks to force on government a farce scenario of on-going negotiation and the cowardly NDA has thus declared a unilateral ceasefire to give fillip to this farce negotiations. Nigerians should not be deceived, the cowardly NDA does not have the capacity to sustain their current madness, hence their insistence in forcing down the throat of Nigerians the reality of an on-going negotiations of which output or conclusion will lead to a so called political solution that will require the Attorney General of the Federation to discontinue the criminal trial of Tompolo and his band of Ex-NIMASA Executives and also Colonel Dasuki. Is it not laughable and a clear pointer to the political agenda of the cowardly NDA that the unconditional release of Colonel Dasuki is a major line item in their demands? What relationship does the trial of Colonel Dasuki has on the Niger Delta demands for a fair deal from Nigeria? The Niger Delta Patriotic Front knows that currently there are no meaningful negotiations going on with any group in the Niger Delta, other than the usual discussions and lamentations that the people have for many years been engaging themselves, the Nation and the world for solutions to their economic and environmental challenges. The cowardly NDA and their cowardly sponsor should be men enough to face the reality of the outcome of their killings of Nigerian Army personnel and destruction of Oil and Gas infrastructure and leave General Boyloaf, Ayiri and Timipre Sylva out of their meaningless and non-existing negotiations. General Boyloaf, Chief Ateke Tom,Farah Dagogo and other forthright champions of the Niger Delta Struggle, have fought a very good fight during the Oil war and accepted amnesty from the Federal Government of Nigeria. These leaders continue to agitate for economic and infrastructural development of the Niger Delta Region through non-violent platforms of constructive engagements. The Niger Delta Patriotic Front posits that there are clear distinction between personal, corporate and regional interests, advises Tompolo and his sympathisers not mix up interests and issues for their greed and quest for personal salvation. The Niger Delta Patriotic Front calls on our brothers from the South East not to be deceived by the entreaties of this band of Niger Delta renegades. They should ask themselves how many Easterners benefited from NIMASA contracts when they held sway there. The cowardly NDA seek to create a larger platform to unify the Niger Delta and South East into a single political agenda. Our South East brothers should know that while there are similarities between our aspirations, we are competing rivals in the Nigerian market place, and these men that seek to involve them are not honourable and the Niger Delta region will not reward them nor return the favour of supporting criminals. The Niger Delta Patriotic Front therefore calls on all those who seek to use and divert the Niger Delta Struggle to cover up the thieving and looting levelled against them individually and the corporate entities in which they have substantial interests to desist from doing so, as no one of us owns the Niger Delta Struggle, we only play our part and leave for the next generation, that they should not corrupt the legacy of the Niger Delta Struggle by their selfish actions of today. Rather than shopping for a political solution to their financial crimes and terrorism related crimes, Tompolo and the cowardly NDA should be men enough to explore avenues presented by the judiciary to exonerate themselves of whatever crimes they are alleged to have committed. Finally, we call on one Paul Bebenimibo, a known spokesperson for Tompolo and now in the employment of the cowardly NDA as their spokesperson, with the rank and name of Brigadier General Mudoch Agbinibo to be man enough to reveal his true identity if he is not a coward like his paymaster
