9ijaMan:

@ Ehoi,
The contradictions I meant to correct are in bold above. Donwload the figues for states and there respective LGs. Add the total figures together and come up with a single figure for every state of the federation. Tell us what you find. Are the ND states still being[b] short changed[/b]? Are the ND states getting more than other states?

You sure did make some correct statement, but I said you cannot defend all that you've stated.

As someone stated earlier, despite all these huge allocations going into the ND states, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Total, Agip etc will not go to some remote village in Kwara, Oyo, Zafara or Kebbi states to provide them with food roads and infrastructures.

If the truth be told, the ND leaders are the worst enemies of the region!

MEND apologises for causing Abuja deaths

By Ayo Okulaja




The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has apologised for causing the death of many people in the explosions which rocked the Federal capital yesterday.

In an email sent to journalists a moment ago, Jomo Gbomo, the spokesperson of the group, said the group "deeply regrets the avoidable loss of lives during our bomb attack in Abuja on Friday October 1, 2010. Our hearts go to the families of those killed who we know were sympathetic to our cause".

The group said the failure of security forces to heed a warning it had given five days before the attack is responsible for the deaths

"The irresponsible attitude of the government security forces is to blame for the loss of lives. They were given 5 days prior notice which led to the harassment of Henry Okah on Thursday, September 30 in South Africa."

It also claimed that an hour before the attack, security forces were reminded of the impending violence but failed to act. It said the email received by journalists a few minutes before the explosions was sent only after the one to security agents.

"The security forces were also warned one full hour to the first bomb blast ahead of the general alert sent to the media and told to steer the public from all parked cars which was not done."

The group's claim of responsibility for the attacks is coming hours after President Goodluck Jonathan said they were not responsible and blamed the explosions on terrorists.

Mr. Jonathan told an ECOWAS gathering in Abuja today that ``What happened yesterday was a terrorist act and MEND was just used as a straw; MEND is not a terrorist group".

"The Niger Delta people are aware of the government's noble efforts to assuage the suffering and deprivation in that region," the President said.

"I am from the Niger Delta, my father's house is few metres from an oil-well, so nobody can claim to be a Niger Deltan than myself.

"It is erroneous to think that my people who have been agitating for good living will deliberately blow up the opportunity they have now".

In a related development, Henry Okah, an alleged leader of the militant group, was arrested by South African police today and is being questioned.

On Thursday, Interpol forces raided Mr Okah's home in South Africa but no action was taken against him. It is not clear yet if he will be charged following his latest arrest.

However, the group has exonerated him of involvement in Friday's bombings that killed at least 12 people and injured tens of others. "Okah has never been involved in any MEND operations but has always been blamed for every attack which is strange to us," the group said.

Ehoi:

I never went into details and never intended to, but thanks for trying to break it down. Unfortunately you didn't do full justice to it.
13% is taken aside for the niger delta states. Then federal government takes about 50% of the remaining 87%. Th other fifty percent is shared among the states (niger delta including) and local government. But remember, all the states don't get the same allocation. The system is made to be less favourable to the niger delta states. Then there is the issue to allocations to the local government areas. Most LGA get about the same but the trick is, some states have about twice the number of LGA than other states. Here again the niger delta states are mostly short changed. When you put these into perspective you will realise that the niger delta states are not really getting as much as we think.

Ibime:

As for those saying that State Governors should be held responsible for underdevelopment, granted the point holds merit. The question is who is responsible for holding State Government accountable?

"With due respect to all invited guests, dignitaries and attendees of the 50th independence anniversary of Nigeria being held today, Friday, October 1, 2010 at the Eagle Square Abuja, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is asking everyone to begin immediate evacuation of the entire area within the next 30 minutes. This warning expires after 10.30Hrs," MEND spokesperson Jomo Gbomo said in the mail.

Ehoi:
 The system is made to be less favourable to the niger delta states.

@labiyemmy:

Why are you hell bent on blaming everything on Jonathan? He has more information than you do - just because someone sends an un seen email to pressmen using the name of MEND, you - in your own daftness believes the email, much more than your head of state who has access to more information than you do? Come on - think, use your head and dont think like okija juju associates who believes anything they read in the papers.

@labiyemmy:

Why are you hell bent on blaming everything on Jonathan? He has more information than you do - just because someone sends an un seen email to pressmen using the name of MEND, you - in your own daftness believes the email, much more than your head of state who has access to more information than you do? Come on - think, use your head and dont think like okija juju associates who believes anything they read in the papers.

Goddex:

Really sometimes nairalanders amaze me. They jumped at seeking the head of their president who has got much more information at his disposal.

Goddex:

Really sometimes nairalanders amaze me. They jumped at seeking the head of their president who has got much more information at his disposal.

9ijaMan:

Actually you both are the ones who amaze the rest of us all on NL. GEJ is on record to be the first president in the world who has decided to embrace terrorists as his brothers and his people against the well being and security of the rest of Nigerians at large. The fact remains that, the Abuja bombings were not the first attempts of MEND. If MEND claims responsibility, and the same MEND has apologized to 9jans for their dastardly acts, it is highly disappointing for the numero Uno (Number One) citizen of the country to rush to their defense. If MEND were not the culprits, why was Henry Okah arrested in SA?

Let's assume that GEJ has more information as you both mentioned, why has he not picked the so called "person" behind the wicked attacks? GEJ is lamely attempting to subvert the course of justice because it involves "his people". Our C&C is more of an ND president than Nigerian president and his pronouncement yesterday is nothing shot of treason as he prefers to protect his ND brothers than the whole of Nigeria thus opposing the Nigerian constitution which he swore to uphold.

yeswecan:

Nigerians deserve to know what happened on Friday - if Jonathan says Mend are not responsible then he should as well tell who is behind it. It is not enough to say Mend is innocent of the attack when they already put out a statement claiming responsibility - Jonathan's position is not acceptable to any right-thinking person.

The Mend issue is a sensitive one - more so for Goodluck Jonathan so he could use some professional help next time- he should know what to say and when to to say it.  He cannot be seen as a sympathizer of Mend - some of us still think Mend is nothing but a criminal and terrorist organization that should be treated as such.

Beaf:

One thing is clear; no NLer knows more than the President about this issue, so lets cut the beer palour talk. If Jonathan has said it wasn't MEND, then you can be 99.99% sure he is correct. The man has info fromm both internal intelligence and foreign govt agencies. I'll add, of course, that you have zero.

As to why Henry Okah was arrested (and how, in your opinion, that ties MEND in); it is unfortunate and quite telling, that that beer palour analysis, the evidence is all around us. Every news agency has reported Okah as the FORMER LEADER of MEND. The thing intelligent minds would do at this time, is wait for the full info to come out and find out who Okah's new master is.

The rest of your post is low, tribalistic crap. Shame.

Gayigaskia:

So GEJ says he knows the suspects of this blast not MEND. If that is the case what is taking the justice department too long  to start the job of arresting the suspects and arraign them. He is making these claims while the suspect is watching and is being given enough time to complete the job ( overturned the president ) or flee the country.  As a President i don't think Jonathan should have made any claim as such before making arrests that is very immature and dumb announcement.

texazzpete:

Truth be told, Jonathan is just being foolish by trying to shield MEND.

Since the whole history of the 'struggle', MEND's Jomo Gbomo has used just ONE email address to send all this missives to the press. He copies Times of Nigeria, Reuters, CNN, BBC and a few other news agencies. The emails used to send the bomb threat and the recently released bomb 'apology' all came from the official MEND email address. I have personally confirmed this from an highly informed source.

MEND did the bombing, pure and simple. Killing innocent civilians is not new to them. At Atlas Cove (an attack many of you hailed by the way), MEND gunned down several innocent workers in their indiscriminate assault. So why this haste to exonerate them?

More than anything, i wanted Jonathan to be President, and i still do to some extent (a better choice than IBB). but there is no frigging need to put my brain on holiday just because i want to believe in him. Coming out to defend MEND is a rather SILLY move on Jonathan's part. In the coming years, Nigeria will be severely tested by Boko Haram and their fundamentalist ilk. A president that goes soft on his people will raise serious dust if and when he gets tough on Boko Haram and religious fundamentalists in the north.

Abeg, for once let's start thinking about what is best for Nigeria. That is all.

[size=14pt]Ex-MEND “Generals” Disown Abuja Blast[/size]
Posted By admin On 02 Oct 2010.

Two ex-militants leaders who are members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta(MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) and “General” Ezekiel Akpesibewei of the Egbema based Deadly Underdogs have condemned the Abuja bomb blast which occurred during the celebration of Nigeria’s Independence
In a telephone interview, General Ezekiel expressed disappointment at the bombing saying it was uncalled for as all the militants have accepted the federal government amnesty programme.

An obviously unhappy Tompolo described the attack as barbaric, adding that it has nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle.

The former MEND ‘General Officer Commanding’ (GOC), who spoke through his media aide, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, said it was unfortunate that those responsible chose a day as significant as October 1 to carry out the attack.

He particularly lamented that the masterminds of the ‘dastardly attack’ did not consider the presence of world leaders on the scene of the celebration, adding that the incident was against the spirit of the Niger Delta struggle.
Hear him: “I want to condemn this in the strongest word possible; it is unfortunate and very barbaric and it is not part of the Niger Delta struggle. I call on security operatives to work assiduously to ensure that all the cuprits are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.”

He noted that arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators would serve as a deterrent to others who may think of embarrassing the nation. He charged President Goodluck Jonathan to remain focused in spite of the unfortunate incident, adding that he must not allow himself to be distracted from the duty of taking the nation to a higher height.

In a similar statement, the Leader of the National Ijaw Observers Group, Mr. Austine Ozobo expressed disappointment at the bombing saying he did not believe that it was done by Niger Delta militants and suspected that it could be the handiwork of those opposed to Jonathan contesting 2011.

In his comment, the President, Niger Delta Youth Council, Mr. Godwin Ovuomaraini while condemning the Abuja blast in its entirety said the act was very ludicrous, barbaric and a rear show of insanity.”It is unpatriotic, regrettable and uncalled for especially at a time like this when Nigerians are supposed to be appreciation God for his mercies. We pray God should give the families the fortitude to bear the lost and wish those injured quick recovery and urged President Jonathan to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to book

[size=14pt]2011: Militants hold secret meetings with IBB, Buhari[/size]
•Ex-military president given conditions
By Tribune 05/09/2010 17:00:00
Written by Idowu Samuel and Emmanuel Adeniyi Monday, 06 September 2010

THERE are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan is yet to strike a deal with leaders of key militant groups in the Niger Delta to strengthen his chances of winning the South-South zone if he decides to run in the 2011 presidential election.
Indications to this effect emerged in the light of efforts by leaders of the militants, who had given up on the government amnesty initiative  to engage presidential aspirants from the North in exploratory talks on how to fit into their presidential programmes.

Two leaders of militant groups which surrendered arms in the wake of the Federal Government’s amnesty had arrived in Abuja last week to hold talks with northern presidential aspirants, including General Ibrahim Babangida and General Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigerian Tribune learnt through aides of the aspirants that the militants complained that they were not being consulted by President Jonathan.

The militant heads were said to have canvassed a view that their full participation in the ongoing political process would enhance their resolve to finally discard the toga of militancy, just as they reportedly expressed dismay that their efforts to dissolve into the campaign programme of President Jonathan were not being appreciated.

It is not certain which specific roles the militants desired to play in the presidential campaigns of the aspirants, whom they reportedly met. However, it was disclosed that tentative agreements were reached by the campaign team of General Buhari that they should make a bold appearance during his inaugural campaign summit scheduled to take place in Abuja any moment from now.

Checks within the IBB campaign organisation revealed that none of the militant leaders was able to meet the Minna general in person, but reportedly met his aides in Abuja and told them about their desire to feature in his campaign programmes.

When the militants met with the representatives of the ex-president recently, Nigerian Tribune gathered that they vowed to support him if he agreed to a one-term tenure and hand over power to a candidate from the South-South geopolitical zone in 2015.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Babangida was told to rescind his decision of handing over to a candidate from the South-East, choose a vice-president from South-South, implement the white paper of the Ledun Mittee committee and create additional states in the South-South geopolitical zone.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the militants were working with notable South-South governors, who were said to be working underground for different northern presidential aspirants following their irreconcilable differences with President Jonathan.

http://news.nigeriadailynews.com/news/4943-2011_militants_hold_secret_meetings.html