Niger Delta Congress; Reject other presidential candidates, to endorse Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed

      

NDC POSITION ON THE FORTHCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Our Ref: NDC/PS/003/2023

Thursday 23rd February, 2023

Greetings all,

I want to on behalf of the NEC and members of the Niger Delta Congress begin offer

my unreserved salutations to the millions of Niger Deltans from across the six South

South states who have paid keen attention to the ongoing political contest with the

hope that with their votes freely cast, there would emerge a president who will truly

respond with the full capacity of his office to the legitimate socioeconomic and

sociopolitical concerns of Niger Deltans as well as the various other peoples within

this geopolitical space called Nigeria.

For the past eight years under this tone deaf administration, the Niger Delta has

experienced some of the worst sociopolitical and socioeconomic attacks; the Federal

Government started off by auctioning over 80 oil wells belonging to our people with

no regard to our calls for inclusion; the Federal Government using an Executive Order

circumvented the fraudulent Nigerian Constitution to grant Northern Nigeria resource

control and the freedom to harness its gold and other mineral resources while also

depriving us of those same rights; the Federal Government bungled the flagship Ogoni cleanup which would’ve been a test case for the cleanup of the entire Niger Delta so

bad that today the United Nations is threatening to pull out completely; the Federal

Government passed a denigrating Petroleum Industry Bill which simply harmonizes all

existing subjugative legislations governing resource exploitation and paying no heed

to our concerns.

it did not end there; the Federal Government set in motion numerous policies which cumulatively have today made our region the poorest region in the entire Southern

Nigeria, the most food deprived in the entire country, the lowest life expectancy in the

country, the highest out of school children in Southern Nigeria, and the most lacking in

access to health facilities in Southern Nigeria. Comparing and contrasting with our

contribution to this country, we have been paid evil for good and it is unacceptable to

our people As an organization which has as its ethos, justice, equity and fairness, we believe the

forthcoming Presidential elections is coming at a crucial point in the history of the

Nigerian Federation and gives us an opportunity to start again on a more just note. We

believe that there can be no peace without justice, and that injustice to one should be injustice to all. This prevailing cloud of injustice has brought about an increase in despondency and a near hopelessness of the Nigerian masses, leading to a heightened call for justice from different sections of this country. These different calls for justice have manifested in different forms; calls for the restructuring of the

Federation, and in extreme cases an outright call for secession of its constituent parts.

In the process leading to the emergence of the different political party candidates, it is clear that justice, equity and fairness were set aside for expediency and selfish

interests. If it were not for those, there wouldn’t be a Muslim-Muslim candidature

paying no regard to the religious composition of this country, or the presentation of a Northern-Fulani candidature which completely disregards the ethnic composition and

sensibilities of this country.

It is on record that every section of this country has at one point or the other since the end of the Civil War in 1960 produced the Head of State or President, whether via the

barrel of the gun, or the ballot; except for one region, the South East. 

As has been stated in previous paragraphs, injustice to one should be injustice to all, and there can be no peace without justice. We believe that it’ll be morally wrong for the NDC as a non-partisan Organisation and movement of our people to be silent in what is shaping up to be a decisive election which will make or mar this country’s future. We believe

that by being silent, we also lose the moral right to speak up against the injustices

which our people have suffered and continue to suffer within the Nigerian Federation.

Bearing all these in mind, the NDC as a representative group of the ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta, and cognizant of the wishes of our people, stand solidly behind the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi. 

We therefore use this medium to call on all Niger Deltans and the rest of the country to shun partisan politics and stand for what is right, just and fair, by also supporting and coming out enmass to cast their

vote for Mr Peter Obi. We do not believe Mr Peter Obi will miraculously turn Nigeria

around, but we believe him to be credible, of good character and devoid of the

baggage of corruption plaguing other front runners. We have an opportunity to lay a new foundation, and we must do so on the altar of justice, equity, and fairness and

heal festering wounds that have contributed to our continuous decline as a country.

Mudiaga Ogboru

National Spokesperson, NDC

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