Wike punctures Biafra agitators’ hope of Niger Delta joining secession struggle

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s statement that leaders and people of the Niger Delta will always strive to defend the unity of Nigeria, may have dealt a blow to Biafran agitators who had thought and felt that the people of Niger Delta are in support of their secession quest.

The secessionists, championed by different groups, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Sovereign State of Biafra among others, have never hidden the fact that the Niger Delta region are in support of their quest.
On some occasions too, some youths from Niger Delta States like Delta and Rivers have been seen participating in protests activities of Biafran agitators.

Also in their different demands for peace to reign in Niger Delta, Niger Delta Avengers and some other militants gave unconditional release of IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu as one of their conditions, fuelling the belief that the oil rich region may be in support of the quest to carve out Biafra from the rest of Nigeria.

However, embattled Governor Wike, who recently accused agents of the Federal Government of a plot to assassinate him and just few days ago alleged that his political enemies want to bomb his plane, speaking in Sokoto at the weekend said, “Leaders and people of the Niger Delta will always strive to defend the unity of Nigeria, because to them, the country remaining as one indivisible entity is not negotiable and of paramount importance.”

The governor who was in Sokoto to felicitate with his colleague, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, stated this as his New Year message when he paid a visit to Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar IV at his palace.

He also called on the Federal Government to drop its alleged vindictive actions against Rivers State adding that the interest of Nigerians and Africans would be better served with Nigeria remaining as one strong and united nation.

Read also: N/Delta: PANDEF joins MEND, accuses Buhari of hidden agenda

“Let me first of all sincerely thank you, our father, the Sultan, for what you are doing for this country, working tirelessly to bring peace and to bring unity to the people. So, for all of us this is what is meant by one Nigeria. We cannot run away from this country.

“The unity of this country is very paramount. The unity of this country is non-negotiable. I am from the Niger Delta, from Rivers State to be specific so I cannot see us in a divided country. No way. We stand for the unity of this country.

“In Rivers State you hardly find instances of pipeline vandalism. We are working at all times to protect national assets in our state. In my state, I am governor for all the people living in the state. I am not a governor of a particular political party, but a governor for all the people of Rivers State,” Wike said.

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