Niger Delta militants withdraw quit notice to northerners and Yorubas

Niger Delta militants withdraw quit notice to northerners and Yorubas

- The October 1 quit notice issued by coalition of Niger Delta militants to northerners and Yorubas has been withdrawn

- Speaking on behalf of the militants, Mike Loyibo said the coalition withdrew the quit notice after they were told of the implications it would have on the region

- The Ijaw chief said the entire Niger Delta people are not in agreement with the quit notice issue

- He blamed the Arewa youths for causing tension in the polity and frowned on the way and manner the government treated them

The coalition of Niger Delta militants has withdrawn the October 1 quit notice they issued to northerners and Yoruba living in the region.

The Pan Niger Delta People’s Congress (PNDPC) claimed they were given the mandate by the issuers of the quit notice to withdraw it, The Nation reports.

The coalition comprises the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, Niger Delta Joint Revolutionary Crusaders Council, Niger Delta Supreme Egbesu Fighters, Niger Delta Red Scorpion Fighters, Niger Delta Youth Mandate for Justice, Niger Delta People’s Liberation Force, Niger Delta Fighters for Resource Control, Niger Delta for Urhobo Resource Control, and Bakassi People’s Liberation Force.

Chief Mike Loyibo who the coalition had named as its coordinator/convener confirmed that the coalition mandated the PNPDC to announce the withdrawal of the quit notice.

According to him, the youths were remorseful after a meeting with him and some members, adding that they had a change of mind after they were told of the implications the quit notice would have on the peace and development of the region.

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Loyibo said: “People should disregard the quit notice from our youths. I have spoken to many of them and they mandated me to withdraw it on their behalf.

“They have called off the quit notice and discharged it. Everybody in the region in the west, east and north should go about their normal business. I can guarantee them of their safety.

“The entire Niger Delta people are not in agreement with the quit notice issue. The boys that issued it are very remorseful. So, they have asked me, because they mandated me to speak for them and the region, to discharge the quit notice.”

The Ijaw leader noted that the youths in the region still believed in the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and their ability to fulfill the promises they made to the region.

We believe that Nigeria will continue to remain as one under a peaceful situation. So, I hereby, use this medium to formally discharge that quit notice. It is of no effects and there is no element of seriousness and the people that did it are very remorseful after we met with them and scolded them,” he said.

Loyibo expressed displeasure at the way the federal government was handling the Arewa youths who caused tension in the polity with its quit notice to Igbos living in the north.

He stated that nobody should be treated as a second class citizen and all must be held as equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

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Legit.ng reported months back that the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups (CNYG) gave Igbos living in the north till October 1 to vacate the region.

The coalition had said the quit notice, issued on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 in Kaduna, was in response to the breakaway agitation by Igbos under the auspices of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu. Read more:

This was trailed by controversy as some condemned it while others supported the youths.

After series of meetings with numerous stakeholders, the group withdrew the quit notice on Thursday, August 24.

However, the withdrawal of the October 1 quit notice issued to Igbos by Arewa youths, was rejected by Niger Delta agitators.

The agitators described the move as an attempt to deceive Nigerians, and laughed over the fact that the withdrawal occurred alongside plans by the federal government to re-arrest and prosecute the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Nigerians talking about the issue of restructuring of the country:

Source: Legit.ng

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