A Delta militant group, Urhobo Gbagbako, has issued a fresh warning, threatening to launch attacks on facilities of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
According to the group, it wants to press home its demands that the oil pipeline protection contract be extended to the Urhobo people, Daily Post reports.
This was disclosed in an email sent by the spokesman for the group, Mr. Priest Omodjuvwu to newsmen on April 16, Thursday.
The group expressed complete disapproval over the appointment of the President of the Ijaw Youth Congress to mediate between it and the NPDC.
It described it as an insult to the Urhobo nation to have sent an Ijaw to mediate in the face-off between it and the NPDC.
The email read: “We shall prove to the entire world in the course of this long and painful campaign, the true spirit and resilience of our people.
“Our collective destiny shall never be determined by another ethnic nation, who, while they enjoyed their God – given wealth, expect us, the Urhobo nation, to stand aloof.
“Our people have resolved in no uncertain terms that the Urhobo people shall not entertain a master-servant or ‘Oga-boy’ relationship with any tribe in the Delta region.
“These crumb eaters and traitors in Urhoboland, who are presently making frantic calls to NPDC and in the guise of providing the solution to these crises in return for petty contracts, shall be put to an inglorious end very soon.
“We shall reply these insults from these individuals, their collaborators against the Urhobo struggle and the NPDC by more attacks at the very heart of the facilities of the NPDC.
“And we are immediately meeting with our over 1,300 fighters and intelligence officers across the 24 kingdoms of the Urhobo nation to review and come out with ways to permanently deal with the threats posed by these unfortunate elements.”
The group had earlier claimed responsibility for the destruction of two pipelines three weeks ago at Ekiugbo and Ighwrenene, Afiesere communities.
They explained that the reason they blew up the pipelines was to show their anger over the exclusion of the Urhobo people from the NPDC oil pipeline surveillance contracts.
They however advised the general public to remain calm as they have ensured that no life will be lost in the cause of their attacks against the multinational oil companies, who they described as ‘oil thieves’.
Nigeria is almost a one- product economy with oil contributing to about 90 percent of her wealth. The country has been battling with huge revenue loss due to activities of vandals of oil and gas pipelines.
Militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region are mostly responsible for this vandalism, to drive home their demands.
Late former President, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua had to grant amnesty to the Niger Delta militants who fought from the creeks to drive home their demand for derivation and resource control in the country.
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