‘Buhari destroyed peace in the Niger Delta’ – Edwin Clark

Leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Pa Edwin Clark, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of destroying the peace the oil rich region had been enjoying before he came into power.

In an open letter addressed to the President on Friday, Edwin Clark said Buhari’s actions is the cause of renewed restiveness in the Nigeria Delta, knocking claims by the President that his regime had fostered lasting peace in the oil-rich region.

Clark, a leader of the Ijaw Nation, said Buhari’s predecessors like the late President Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan, should be credited for any peace enjoyed in the South-South and not the present regime.

“There is no doubt that a good amount of peace has come to the Niger Delta in the past few years. However, your claim as having been the main architect that brought the peace does not properly convey what transpired,” the PANDEF leader said in the letter.

“If you will recall, your excellency, before your government came on board, insecurity which had reduced substantially during the tenure of your predecessor, resumed at a very alarming rate.

“The period saw the emergence of a new group, the Niger Delta Avengers, which virtually held your government hostage, oil production went down to as low as about 800,000 barrels per day.

“Your government adopted a military approach to quell the agitations, by deploying the so-called ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ in August 2016, which did not in any way solve the problem.

“Mr President, may I make it very clear to you that the area is sitting on a keg of gunpowder, and any attempt to scrap the amnesty programme may produce unpleasant consequences to all.”

 “Our people are very conscious of the developments that your government is carrying out in other areas of the country with monies derived from oil exploration in their area.

“We repeat, our agitation against the use of money looted from our area by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, which was recovered from the United States of America, exclusively for the construction of the so-called mega projects by the Federal Government.

“Mr. President, you have failed to deliver on different promises, including building modular refineries to replace the local refining carried out by youths, relocation of the operational headquarters of the oil companies to the Niger Delta, and the Ogoni clean-up.

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“Please, Mr President, I respectfully wish to state that your claim of bringing peace to the South-South geo-political zone, is untenable, untrue and without foundation.

“The deliberate neglect of the South-South, can lead to the explosion of the keg of gunpowder upon which we are sitting in the Niger Delta.

“I strongly advise you to listen and heed to the various open letters I have written to you,” he said.