The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has thrown its weight behind the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari.
In a three-page statement signed by the group’s spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, MEND said it endorsed and fully support General Buhari after careful consideration of the state of the nation.
The group said the decision to support the APC presidential candidate stems from the pathetic level into which the Jonathan administration has brought the country.
The group said the president does not deserve to be given a second term at the Aso Villa after his tenure expires in May because of his continuous and blatant disregard for the people who voted him into office.
“This is a president that told Nigerians to their faces that he does not ‘give a damn’ when asked to declare his assets. A requirement that is constitutional on assuming the office of the President,” wrote Gbomo.
“President Jonathan, since assuming office, has setup countless committees but none of the reports has ever been implemented. From the Nuhu Ribadu report to the KPMG and Fuel Subsidy committees, just to mention a few.
“How can Nigerians expect a highly corrupt person like Goodluck Jonathan to fight corruption when he believes that stealing is not corruption, as he shamelessly told the Nation?
“He has proven beyond all reasonable doubt, his inability to tackle corruption or prosecute a single government official in his six (6) years in office.”
According to him, MEND finds Jonathan’s recent plan to fight corruption “laughable,” saying that it not only smacked of ignorance but also shows how stupid the president thinks Nigerians are.
“A president that had six years to tackle corruption but choose to shield corrupt government officials and also partake in looting the nation’s resources, MEND argued, lacks the temerity to say his has a plan to fight corruption,” the group said.
“We re-state our disregard and lack of confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan. Rather than address the perennial issues in the country responsible for his administrations failures, he is concentrating government funds in a campaign of misinformation intended to hoodwink Nigerians who, unfortunately for him, are now wiser and smarter than he is.
“Goodluck Jonathan’s actions, utterances and arrogance prove that he is totally disconnected with the situation facing the ordinary Nigerian and completely out of touch with reality.”
MEND, with roots in the oil-rich Niger Delta, stood as the face of a militant struggle against the Nigerian government for years, launching attacks on oil installations, and confronting government forces.
The violence largely ended after the government offered amnesty to fighters in the region who said they were pushing for greater share of oil and gas resources in the region, although the government said the claim was a mere cover for criminality.
To date, MEND has not formally accepted the amnesty offer.
The group blames President Jonathan for the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of its leader, Henry Okar, by the South African government. Mr. Okar is serving a 24-year term in South Africa.
The militant group commended General Buhari for planning to scrap the office of the First Lady if elected president, saying that apart from serving as the conduit for plunder, the office is irrelevant, fraudulent and unconstitutional.
Gbomo noted how President Jonathan narrowly escaped being charged to court for attempting to launder stolen money to the United Kingdom, barely a few months after the husband was sworn in as President. [myad]
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