Leaders of former Niger Delta militants from the seven states in the region have endorsed Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, as their preferred candidate for the upcoming election. The ex-militants decided after a lengthy meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Despite warnings and pressure from Governor Nyesom Wike and strong Tinubu campaigner Asari Dokubo, a former agitator, the ex-militants unanimously endorsed Obi.
The meeting included all foremost ex-Niger Delta militant leaders and their representatives in alliance with a new think-tank of oil-producing ethnic nationalities of the region. The group also warned against any attempts to rig the election. The meeting was held under the aegis of the Conference of Ex-militants for Niger Delta Industrial Rebirth, which declared in a 10-point communique that Obi has the highest governance intelligence quotient, creative industrial competence, resourceful innate integrity, human potentialities and propensity to decisively implement practical solutions to the leadership failure, environmental degradation and corruption that have impeded the natural development of their Niger Delta region for too long.
The ex-militant leaders appealed to every ex-militant, youth, women group, and leadership of ethnic nationalities of the region to join them in delivering every ballot paper that arrives in the area to Obi and his running mate, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as the next President and Vice President of Nigeria come February 25, 2023.
The ex-militant leaders also rejected the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of being an unfeeling Fulani who has demonstrated contempt for all southerners and political arrogance by breaking faith with the moral principle of North-South power rotation, which has been in place for 24 years for the purpose of equity, sense of equality, and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians of the two hemispheres. The ex-militant leaders urged Atiku and his fellow Brutus, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, to withdraw from the presidential race before the polls on February 25.
Those who attended the meeting included CENDIR, Oporoza House, Ijaw Leadership Stakeholders Working Group, the Movement for Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality of the Niger Delta, Ogoni Renaissance and Urhobo Progress Vanguard. Others are Edo Posterity Summit, Isoko Equity Agenda, Kalabari Vision Vanguard, Ndokwa Progress Roundtable, Ondo Akatapa Oil and Gas Watch, Niger Delta Coast Guards, Niger Delta Riverine Security Network and Niger Delta Congress.
The endorsement of Obi by the ex-militants is a significant boost for his campaign. The Niger Delta region is a critical battleground in Nigerian politics, and the support of former militants could be crucial in determining the election outcome. Obi has been a vocal advocate for the development of the Niger Delta region. His ex-militant endorsement could signal that he is seen as the candidate most likely to address the issues facing the area.
