President Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen in the South South geo-political zone have expressed regrets over the role they played in ensuring that he was voted into power in 2011.
Leaders of the Niger Delta Elders’ Forum (NDEF) in a statement jointly signed by both the Chairman, Etubong Alphonsus Duke, and Secretary, Nelson Baribote, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Wednesday advised the President to forget about any support from the region if he would not yield to their demands.
The elders reminded Jonathan that though Nigerians massively voted for him in 2011, his strongest support base was the South-South geo-political zone, a gesture, they claimed, the President was yet to reciprocate.
The Forum, among other things, cited the present state of the East-West Road, the only road linking the oil-rich region with the rest of the country, and the poor performance of his key ministers from the region as some of the reasons for his poor rating in the region.
Nigerians were stunned when leader of the Niger Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force (NDPF), Mujaheed Dokubo Asari, and former President of the Ijaw Youths Congress (IYC), Chris Ekiyor, at different fora in recent times expressed their disappointment over the President’s performance and doubted his ability to win the 2015 election.
The NDEF leaders demanded that the President sacks some of his ministers who are in charge of matters directly affecting the region and assign people, from any part of the country, who will take such matters serious, into such offices.
“There is no gainsaying that this road (East-West Road) is the bed rock of the region’s development; its deplorable condition has also been over flogged in the media. We, therefore, state categorically that the President has failed the people.
“The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, has also failed, having lacked the dexterity to explore other means for the construction of the road.
“We, therefore, support the call made by Mujaheed Asari Dokubo that the minister be sacked and replaced with a more vibrant person. Wherever the person comes from does not matter.
“We have seen that the President and his ministers are more interested in the 2015 agenda than the welfare of the people.
“We wish to state, however, that this time around, Niger Deltans will not be fooled to vote for Jonathan unless he takes practical steps to address our developmental challenges in the region without prejudice to other areas.
“As an antidote, the President must as a matter of urgency remove the following ministers, aside Orubebe. They are; Diezani Alison-Madueke and Ama Pepple. Unlike others from the region, they are more of political liabilities to the President than assets.
“This is more so that they are inaccessible to their people.
“We call on other well-meaning leaders of the South-South to rise up to the challenge and tow the honourable line initiated by Dokubo.
“They must speak if only to help Jonathan. If the President feels so much that he cannot do away with Ama Pepple, Diezani and Orubebe, he should deploy them to other areas where they have no link with the development of the region,” the Forum said.
Several other prominent Ijaw leaders, including the activist, Ann-kio Briggs, Kimse Okoko, former President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and Anabs Sara-Igbe, had at one time or another lampooned Jonathan over his poor performance.
They have equally accused the President of totally neglecting his own people who laboured so much to ensure that he became President in 2011.