Repentant militant leaders in the Niger Delta region yesterday threatened to cut off every avenue through which states in the northern region of the country get supply of petroleum products if through any of their actions, the President, Goodluck Jonathan, is stopped from seeking a re-election in 2015.

Rising from a meeting in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, the ex-militants further threatened to embark on actions to stop the North from benefiting from crude oil proceeds generated from the Niger Delta.

The former freedom fighters drawn from the nine states under the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had converged on Oron under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, where they also assessed and condemned the handling of NDDC projects by contractors.

The president of the group, Reuben Wilson, said in an interview with journalists that their interest was to ensure that Jonathan returned to office in 2015 and that anybody who opposed the idea was considered an enemy of the region.

He said: “We met in Oron to review developments in the country, particularly as it concerns the interest of the Niger Delta people. You will agree that the Niger Delta is the main stay of the nation’s economy.

“You will agree with me that the Niger Delta people are sustaining the economy at great inconveniences and pains to its people and the environment. It is the only time that the region has had the privilege of producing a president for the country.

“It is unthinkable that the North will be plotting against our son, intimidating him with bomb blasts here and there and causing the untimely death of scores of innocent Nigerians, all because they want to take back power.

“We have always seen the need for us to live together as one indivisible country and this is what Mr. President believes in. However, with the way things are going, we have been pushed to the wall and we cannot but react.

“Accordingly, the former freedom fighters have agreed that all the routes through which the North has been benefiting from crude oil finds coming from the Niger Delta will be cut off, if they insist on forcing Mr. President out of office.

“We will expect them to use whatever means available to them to generate their source of revenue with which they will run the presidency. They cannot be using our sweat to enjoy when we, the producers of the wealth, are not allowed the constitutional right to two terms in office.”

•Excerpted from a THISDAY report. Photo shows Niger Delta militants before they dropped their guns.

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