Blackmail against Tompolo, Otuaro threatens regional stability, N-Delta activist Bene Mamamu warns
By Ezekiel Kagbala
The National President of the Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC), Comrade Bene Mamamu, has stoutly condemned what he described as malicious and politically-sponsored smear campaigns from some quarters, targeting prominent Niger Delta leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo, and the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro.
He stated that "the activities of these deliberate blackmailers could threaten the South South regional stability, if allowed to continue unchecked".
Mamamu who is also the leader of the Independent Grassroots Liberators (IGL), at a press conference held in Warri on Wednesday, expressed outrage over a recent sponsored protest in Abuja led by one Jude Gbaboyor,
who allegedly accused the notable Niger Delta leaders of engaging in human rights abuses and procuring private detention camps.
Mamamu faulted the allegations declaring them as "fabricated lies intended to mislead the public, discredit the Federal Government’s peace-building efforts, and undermine stability in the oil-rich Niger Delta region".
“This is a calculated attempt by failed contractors and political blackmailers who are uncomfortable with the transparent reforms currently being implemented in the Presidential Amnesty Programme", he stated.
While naming Jude Gbaboyor and his purported collaborators as "masterminding the ill-motivated campaigns of falsehood", Mamamu stated that "their intention is to create unnecessary tension between the Federal Government and the people of the
region".
"But Niger Deltans are wiser now”, he said.
"They are enemies of peace and development whose goal is to provoke unrest and derail t
he gains achieved under the PAP", he added.
Mamamu however advised Jude Gbaboyor, and his co-travellers, "to retrace his steps as an Ijaw son and refrain from acts capable of betraying or undermining regional unity, urging him to support ongoing peace and development efforts in the Niger Delta".
Speaking further, the NDYC leader lauded Tompolo for "his remarkable contribution to the sustainance of peace, stability, and security across the Niger Delta region".
He specifically paid glowing tributes to Tompolo’s security outfit, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) "for its effective coordination of the pipeline surveillance contract in the region, which has significantly curbed oil theft, safeguarded national assets, and boosted Nigeria’s crude oil output thereby strengthening the nation’s economic stability".
He said, "The allegations against Tompolo are baseless, reckless, and insulting to a selfless leader who has contributed immensely to sustaining peace and security in the region.
“Tompolo has been instrumental in stabilizing Nigeria’s oil-producing communities through the pipeline surveillance contract that drastically reduced crude oil theft. Portraying him as a human rights abuser is laughable and a desperate move to destroy the p
eace we currently enjoy".
