* Releases his hot telephone lines
* Denies accusation of double standard
* Sheds light on ceasefire agreement
LAGOS—PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo is keeping open, for as long as necessary, channels of communication he opened last week with the Ijaw warlord, Mujahid Dokubo Asari, according to indications weekend. The president and Asari met for three days last week which led to a cease-fire in the Niger Delta.
This came just as the Presidency expressed disappointment at the statement credited to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, accusing the government of double standard in its dealing with Ijaw warlord, Dokubo Asari. Chief Chekwas Okorie had criticised the manner in which the Federal Government is dealing with agitations emanating from different ethnic nationalities in the country, saying that double standard is the name of the game. Chief Okorie said, weekend, that the peace parley in Abuja had lent credence to the lopsided manner the government had been tackling the issue of National Question coming from different zones in the country.
The presidency has also shed light on the agreement between the militant groups led by Dokubo Asari and his rival, Tom Atake. A source at the president’s meeting with Dokubo Asari last week said the president was determined to keep peace in the Niger Delta. As a matter of fact, he gave Asari his telephone hot numbers for Asari to reach him anytime to discuss any form of problem in the area, the source said.
FG faults Okorie
However, the Presidency, weekend , claimed that President Olusegun Obasanjo had never ignored the MASSOB challenge but had always sought to dialogue with the leaders of Ndigbo on ways to integrate everyone into the Nigerian family. It denied the allegation of bias and double standard levelled at the president by the Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, over the handling of negotiations for peace in the Niger Delta with militants Dokubo Asari and Atake Tom.
The Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) to the President, Mrs Remi Oyo, in an interview told Vanguard that “it is patently false that President Obasanjo had ignored both Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Chief Chekwas Okorie of APGA on the challenges of MASSOB. The President is an acknowledged international statesman and the world accords us so much respect that President Obasanjo is routinely invited to help foster dialogue in troubled regions in Africa and elsewhere. He cannot, therefore, afford not to do at home what is done for others elsewhere.
“In his usual style, the President had had three sessions of dialogue over the MASSOB challenge with Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The same applied to APGA chairman, Chief Okorie, who had sat with the President over the same subject on two distinct occasions in the past.
“At every meeting, the President stressed the need to employ dialogue to build the nation and guide the youths along the right path because this is the only place they have. What is done with the outcome of such meetings is another matter entirely, but this President treats every Nigerian as an equal who can contribute meaningfully towards rebuilding the state. It is, therefore, unfair and false to accuse the President of bias and double standard,” she said.
FG sheds light on Dokubo’s deal
Mrs Remi Oyo also shed light on the agreement signed between the militant groups from Niger Delta led by Dokubo Asari and Tom Atake. Mrs Oyo told Vanguard, when pressed to confirm whether Obasanjo has accepted the demands by NDPVF led by Dokubo Asari on issues of resource control and self determination, that: “The President understands the grievances of the people of Niger Delta as well as the various plights of people from all the other sections of the country. As you know, part of the decisions taken by the President on assuming office was to work for the setting up of Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) to tackle some of the problems in the region, so he is concerned about what happens in the Niger Delta.
“And so with the fight between the warring groups disrupting peace and stability in the region, the President, as acknowledged international peace maker who believes that dialogue is the path to peace to the intractable problem in the Niger Delta, decided to initiate the talks as a way to stop the fight by the militants that was causing so much death,” she said.
When pressed again to confirm whether the NDPVF made resource control and self-determination its key demands, Mrs Oyo declined to make any comment on this, but stated: “Dokubo Asari had some issues, but the President could not allow the killings to continue. I would also like to refer you to the part of the agreement that was signed, which states that, ‘the parties pledge to be peaceful, law-abiding and not to undertake any act detrimental to the unity of the country.’”
Ijaw students warn on Dokubo
National Union of Izon (Ijaw) Students (NUIS) , weekend, warned President Obasanjo to ensure that nothing happens, in the name of peace talks to the Ijaw warlord, Abubarkar Mujahid Asari Dokubo. The Ijaw students also want both the Presidency and the National Assembly to stop the idea of sharing the excess crude oil fund among the 36 States of the Federation and redistribute the fund instead to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and also send relief materials through the National Emergency Management Agency to the bereaved Izon communities in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states who were displaced.
In a communique, jointly signed by the national president and national secretary, Messrs. Otuaro Dennis and Oyakemeagbegha Kenneth respectively, the NUIS said against the background of the hostilities in Izon communities by the Security Task Force, which had branded law-abiding citizens “gutter” names, it was clear that there was a hidden plan to exterminate the Izon race in the country.
They also appealed to all the governors and political leaders of the South-South geo-political zone to remain aggressively and positively focused, united and committed courageously to the pursuit of self-determination, resource control and immediate convocation of a sovereign national conference in conjunction with other geo-political zones.
