The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) says it is deceptive for the Federal Government to ascribe 'blood oil' to bunkering, when the security agencies are aware of the real culprits.

MEND is insisting that what ought to be tagged blood oil is the 50 years of criminal neglect of the Niger Delta which has caused countless deaths of the impoverished people who have no access to good water, health care and those that have been killed by extra judicial murders.

MEND spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo in an online interview with The Guardian on Thursday urged President Yar'Adua to show the same enthusiasm and action he has taken to solicit military support from Britain to the developmental challenges facing the Niger Delta region. According to him, "As a group, we are embarrassed that the Nigerian armed forces have to beg the UK for help to fight us. If the country was invaded by Cameroun, are they going to wait for the UK before defending the country? The whole military institution is a fraud. What happened to all the training overseas and weapons that have been purchased since independence?"

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MEND urged Britain not to be hoodwinked by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's appeal for support to stem illegal oil theft in the Niger Delta as the real blunderers are made up of the military and a wide range of Nigerians.

Meanwhile, Ijaws in the United Kingdom joined other Nigerian groups in a peaceful demonstration at the Chatham House London on Thursday to protest against the proposed British military assistance to Nigeria.

The Ijaws, under the aegis of the Ijaw People's Association (IPA) of Great Britain said the fragile peace in the Niger Delta was given another deadly blow with the offer by Mr. Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister to provide military assistance to the Nigerian government to stem the unrest in the region.

A statement by the Ijaw National Congress (INC Europe) Chairman, Dr. Felix Tuodolo, said the Prime Minister's gesture was unnecessary at this time when the Nigerian Government is talking about a Niger Delta Summit geared towards a negotiated settlement of the crisis. The IPA, according to him, has already secured a police permit to organize a protest march to Mr. Brown's official residence, No. 10 Downing Street and the Nigerian embassy in London on Saturday.

"While the corrupt Nigerian Government, the oil companies, and the British government are looking for profit, the people of the Delta are facing a lifelong sentence to poverty and environmental degradation.

 

 

 

 

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