Former militant and leader of the Niger Delta Peoples
Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, on
Sunday declared that President Goodluck Jonathan’s
presidential ambition in 2015 was already settled, as
his Niger Delta compatriots would not succumb to any
force opposed to its full actualization. There would be blood in the streets if Mr. Jonathan is
not reelected president in the 2015 election, the
militant leader threatened. Mr. Asari-Dokubo, who was a guest on a Channels
Television programme, Politics Today, monitored in
Abuja, said he would register as a full member of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to enable him
join in the fight to realize the president’s re-election
bid. “The way things are going, there is no sitting on the
fence in the battle before us,” Mr. Asari-Dokubo said.
“When some people say they have a right to rule and
others don’t have, then there is no sitting on the
fence. All of us will have to be in the ring and fight. We
cannot leave Goodluck (Jonathan) alone. “My support for Jonathan will be biased, because
charity begins at home. Monkey no fine, but im mama
like am. Goodluck, na my person. 2015 is already a
settled matter. Goodluck Jonathan would be President
in 2015.
“Whether they contest or they don’t. If they say the blood of the dogs and the baboons will be soaked in
the streets, or salt water in the streets, we will help
them in blood in the streets.” Insisting there was no crisis in the PDP in the wake of
the walkout during the recent National Convention by
some aggrieved members, led by former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar, and seven governors, Mr.
Asari-Dokubo said the exit of seven out of 23
governors elected on PDP ticket was not enough to cause any crisis. On the role of two former Presidents, Ibrahim
Babangida and Olusegun Obasanjo, who are working
towards an amicable resolution of the crisis, Asari-
Dokubo described the duo, who are also members of
the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP, as “agents
provocateur”, who are fueling the crisis by declaring that they do not want Jonathan to run in the 2015
elections. He accused Messrs Babangida and Obasanjo of
secretly encouraging the Jigawa state governor, Sule
Lamido to run for President, with Rivers state
governor, Chubuike Amaechi as his deputy, adding
that at one recent public function, Mr. Babangida had
said that Mr. Amaechi and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, were good to run
for higher offices come 2015. He described the Rivers state governor as “a traitor
to the collective aspirations of the people of Rivers
State,” saying whatever situation the governor is
facing he deserved it, as there was no better way a
traitor could be treated by Rivers people.
On the intervention of the National Assembly in the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly, the
militant leader criticized the decision to take over the
legislative functions of the Assembly, saying the
lawmaker lacked the moral high ground to have done
so, since they were unable to take a similar action
when they were embroiled in corruption charges a few years ago. Mr. Asari-Dokubo, who claimed he was a card-
carrying member and major financial of the defunct
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) until December 27,
2010, said he would be joining the PDP to enable him
join in fighting for President Jonathan’s candidacy
from the inside. Ruling out any possibility of running for any office in
2015, he said his focus for now was on getting the Mr.
Jonathan’s reelection project delivered. “I will declare for the PDP. We will fight, because in
this battle, there is no retreat, no surrender. We will
not take any prisoner of war. It will be total battle,”
he said.