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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Ex-militant leaders from the six States of the Niger Delta region have attributed the defeat of the the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva to the alleged unholy alliance between him and the former militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpemukpolo also known as Tompolo over the previous award of oil pipeline surveillance contract.
The Ex-Militant Leaders, in a statement issued on said despite the wide acceptance of the winner of the just concluded Bayelsa Governorship poll, Senator Douye Diri by the electorates, they collaborated to counter the Sylva/Tompolo alliance to snatch the election victory in Bayelsa.
The statement signed by High Chief Fidelis Nagard also known as Water Phython, said the action of the ex-militant leaders was carried out as a show of force to the Federal Government and the President Bola Tinubu administration that Tompolo is no longer a political factor in the Niger Delta region.
“We had it on good authority that Tompolo promised the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, that he would ensure Chief Timipre Sylva win in Bayelsa state, but the ex-militant leaders agreed on a counter plan to show to the Federal Government that Tompolo is not a political guru or a fighter.”
“Tompolo is only riding on past glory in which major ex-militant leaders also played vital roles
The Ex-Militant leaders, however, called on the Federal Government to ensure that development and empowerment policies for the region are inclusive
” We have also proven to President Tinubu’s administration that ex-militant leaders that worked vigorously for his victory during the 2023 Presidential election, can equally work against his administration and his party if they continue to channel developmental projects and pipeline surveillance contracts in the region through Tompolo.
He also called on the Federal Government to take a close review of the crude oil pipeline surveillance contract and ensure that it is decentralized across the corridors in the region and warned that if it is awarded to only one contractor, it will fail.
‘’If they go ahead, it will be sabotaged. The Federal Government should decentralise the contract for the national and economic security interest of the country,” he added.
