Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, a coalition of ex-agitators and stakeholders in the Niger Delta region, have vowed to ensure landslide victory for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This was the resolve of five major groups of ex-agitators and stakeholders including peace advocacy groups in the Niger Delta region.
The essence of the crucial meeting with theme ‘Niger Delta Advocate for Peace and Good Governance Group, Concerned Niger Delta Ex-Militant Support Group for Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ was to critically assess the situation in the nine states of Niger Delta region and the forthcoming presidential election on who can really expedite the expected development in all communities, local government areas and states of the Niger Delta. The coalition is made up of Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard, Niger Delta Advocate for Peace and Good Governance Group, Concerned Niger Delta Ex-Militants Support Group For Tinubu and Voice of Niger Delta Advocacy Group.
The Convener of the Coalition and also founder, Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard(ND-APC YV), ‘General’ Fiawei Pathfinder(aka Osama), explained that the conference became imperative because 2023 is a year of reshaping and putting the region at a vintage by far-reaching decisions of these five major groups in the region as far as presidential candidates are concerned. Pathfinder said the region cannot sit and watch for its head to be shaved behind it by those who don’t mean well, hence the decision to give all support and commitment to the Tinubu Presidency come 2023.
In his speech he unequivocally stated that the coalition has done its in-depth, independent analysis and scrutiny about issues plaguing the Niger Delta region over the years despite the sustenance and lifeline the region had given to the nation since 1956 after discovery of oil in commercial quantity at Oloibiri, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. According to him, while speaking on behalf of the coalition he declared that the only presidential candidate who can actualize the yearnings, aspirations and expectations of the communities in the creeks of the nine states of the Niger Delta region is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Leaders and members of the five groups that made up the coalition in attendance included, ‘General’ Fiawei Pathfinder of Niger Delta APC Youth Vanguard, Delta State; ‘General’ Solomon Debekeme of Concerned Niger Delta Ex-Militant Support Group for Tinubu Rivers State; Ambassador Douglas Oyakemeagbegha of Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Leaders; Sir A.K. Peters of Niger Delta Advocate for Peace and Good Governance, Cross River State; Ambassador Mrs Success Motajo and Ambassador Mrs Ebi Tinubu of Voice of Niger Delta, Bayelsa State. The reason these groups converged in Warri, Delta State for this crucial meeting conveyed by ‘General’ Fiawei Pathfinder is not farfetched.
“We have deliberated on issues of national importance as it concerns state of the nation and the impacts on the Niger Delta region over the years, and have resolved unanimously to endorse and throw our weight behind the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, the former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Tinubu, and his running mate, former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima as our preferred choice and whom we will follow as we have accepted them. We have also agreed to pull our wealth of experience, solid structures, and members together as we focus on one goal, which is to ensure landslide victory of Senator Tinubu in all local government areas of the nine Niger Delta states come 2023.
“We have already hit the ground running to mobilize all electorates across the region, and no stone will be left unturned as far as Senator Tinubu presidential election is concerned, we will have a resounding victory based on our grand strategy, especially at the grassroots,” Pathfinder stated.
He added that, “The coalition of the five major groups that gathered for this meeting call on all sons and daughters in Niger Delta with Nigerians home and abroad to pitch tent with Senator Tinubu’s Presidential bid due to his charismatic nature of nation building as a core democrat who believes in equity fairness and justice.”
The convener pointed out that the Tinubu Presidency is for the benefit of the Niger Delta region as he highlighted some facts behind their endorsement of Tinubu as the presidential candidate. Since the major opposition political party, PDP, refused to pick its presidential candidate from the southern part of the country and now that the ruling party, APC, zoned their presidential candidate to the southern region of the country, we are convinced that Senator Tinubu will be the game changer that will re-write the sad story of the oil rich region.
“By extension, Senator Tinubu is a core believer of the Niger Delta struggle and it’s resource control agitation, and it is on record Senator Tinubu carried along the Ijaw people living in Lagos State when he was Governor of Lagos State by giving special attention to Elder Joseph Eva, National Coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, from Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, and the Ijaw people living in Lagos State were carried along and treated as Lagosians.
“We want to unequivocally state at this juncture that Senator Tinubu is the only man who is willing to change the narrative of Niger Deltans and we see that he will take up the issue of underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region seriously and will give it a priority attention including other regions of the country when he is elected president of Nigeria, we are also optimistic and convinced that he will turn things around for the betterment of ordinary Nigerians. He is a defender of democracy on the basis of Justice, Fairness and Equity.”
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