A consolidate group of militants known as the Joint Revolutionary
Council (JRC), have threatened to attack the Bayelsa State Government
House if the state governor, Seriake Dickson, continued to owe members
of the state civil service their salaries.
The group in a statement released yesterday July 6th, said it was
unacceptable for governor Dickson to be owing civil servants about seven
months, local government workers for over 13 months, pensioners for
about nine months and workers in the only state university, Niger Delta
University (NDU) for about seven months.
In the statement signed by some of their leaders namely General’
Torunanaowei Latei (Creek Network Coordinator); ‘General’ Agbakakuro
Owei-Tauro (Pipeline Bleeding Expert); ‘General’ Akotebe Darikoro
(Commander, General Duties) and ‘General’ Pulokiri Ebikade (Intelligence
Bureau), the group said the state governor cannot complain of lack of
funds.
“We
are warning Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state, without
further delay commence the final payment of all workers including the
old pensioners been owed their several months of salary. Dickson is to
pay these workers/pensioners in full and not 50% or half of half of
their legitimate salaries. He will not
claim of no funds to pay them. The funds are with him based on the
allocations he received from the federation account which is known to
the people. No fund but the
government is busy doing projects and building personal buildings within
and outside the state, while these workers are dying in abject poverty
in the state. This is
unacceptable and it must stop forthwith in the region because our
parents, brothers and sisters are not to suffer as a result of their
effort in government. Enough is
enough, he should go and bring the money wherever he is keeping it and
fully pay these workers and pensioners before the end of this month or
otherwise, what he is looking for in the state he shall see it from us. If
the government said there is no money, it should without delay auction
those properties it and its relatives amass with the state funds within
and outside Bayelsa now to pay the workers immediately. We’ll
go after any of Dickson’s relation and political appointees who have
given wrong advise to the Pharaoh (Gov. Dickson) of Bayelsa state to
cripple the state. Since the
governor cannot pay workers in the state, by avoiding the oath he took
and his constitutional responsibilities, he should leave the seat of
power in the state to avoid bloodshed. Whoever that attacks us in words will also go for it. If
Dickson undermines us what he saw while serving as Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice of the state on that fateful day of April,
27th 2007 were we came and sacked President Goodluck Jonathan then
governor of the state at government house, will experience same but this
time around it will be disastrous and head will roll, whoever that
confronts us”.
The
group listed some of the oil installations it may soon attack as oil
and gas pipelines running from Ogboinbiri in Southern Ijaw LGA of
Bayelsa state to Obrinkon in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state, flow
stations of Ogboinbiri, Oporoma, Peremabiri, Tabidaba, Nembe, Brass,
Chevron platform in Koluama, Okordia-Zarama and Biseni including
Gbarain-Ubie gas gathering plant.
The
group in th statement commended Minister of State for Petroleum
Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, for intervening in the issues of the region
“We thanked the Minister of state, Petroleum Resources for the
bold steps he personally took to resolve the injustice created and
sponsored by the wicked companies and government in Nigeria. Our
struggle is beyond monetary gains and we cannot be bribed by the
Nigerian government to the detriment of our suffering people and the
struggle is unstoppable until justice is done to the region. Our Field Commanders have been instructed what to do and those who are on standby in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta Cross River await after Bayelsa state operations. We
further warned that, henceforth, any attack on Ijaw communities or
person(s) by the military or para-military body in the region, we will
not hesitate to order our shoot-at-sight squad of any uniform personnel
in the region. For the records,
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are not in Delta state, we only go there to
strike and returns back safely to the struggle base, Bayelsa state”.
