NDC POSITION ON THE FORTHCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Our Ref: NDC/PS/003/2023
Thursday 23rd February, 2023
Greetings all,
I want to on behalf of the NEC and members of the Niger Delta Congress begin offer
my unreserved salutations to the millions of Niger Deltans from across the six South
South states who have paid keen attention to the ongoing political contest with the
hope that with their votes freely cast, there would emerge a president who will truly
respond with the full capacity of his office to the legitimate socioeconomic and
sociopolitical concerns of Niger Deltans as well as the various other peoples within
this geopolitical space called Nigeria.
For the past eight years under this tone deaf administration, the Niger Delta has
experienced some of the worst sociopolitical and socioeconomic attacks; the Federal
Government started off by auctioning over 80 oil wells belonging to our people with
no regard to our calls for inclusion; the Federal Government using an Executive Order
circumvented the fraudulent Nigerian Constitution to grant Northern Nigeria resource
control and the freedom to harness its gold and other mineral resources while also
depriving us of those same rights; the Federal Government bungled the flagship Ogoni cleanup which would’ve been a test case for the cleanup of the entire Niger Delta so
bad that today the United Nations is threatening to pull out completely; the Federal
Government passed a denigrating Petroleum Industry Bill which simply harmonizes all
existing subjugative legislations governing resource exploitation and paying no heed
to our concerns.
it did not end there; the Federal Government set in motion numerous policies which cumulatively have today made our region the poorest region in the entire Southern
Nigeria, the most food deprived in the entire country, the lowest life expectancy in the
country, the highest out of school children in Southern Nigeria, and the most lacking in
access to health facilities in Southern Nigeria. Comparing and contrasting with our
contribution to this country, we have been paid evil for good and it is unacceptable to
our people As an organization which has as its ethos, justice, equity and fairness, we believe the
forthcoming Presidential elections is coming at a crucial point in the history of the
Nigerian Federation and gives us an opportunity to start again on a more just note. We
believe that there can be no peace without justice, and that injustice to one should be injustice to all. This prevailing cloud of injustice has brought about an increase in despondency and a near hopelessness of the Nigerian masses, leading to a heightened call for justice from different sections of this country. These different calls for justice have manifested in different forms; calls for the restructuring of the
Federation, and in extreme cases an outright call for secession of its constituent parts.
In the process leading to the emergence of the different political party candidates, it is clear that justice, equity and fairness were set aside for expediency and selfish
interests. If it were not for those, there wouldn’t be a Muslim-Muslim candidature
paying no regard to the religious composition of this country, or the presentation of a Northern-Fulani candidature which completely disregards the ethnic composition and
sensibilities of this country.
It is on record that every section of this country has at one point or the other since the end of the Civil War in 1960 produced the Head of State or President, whether via the
barrel of the gun, or the ballot; except for one region, the South East.
As has been stated in previous paragraphs, injustice to one should be injustice to all, and there can be no peace without justice. We believe that it’ll be morally wrong for the NDC as a non-partisan Organisation and movement of our people to be silent in what is shaping up to be a decisive election which will make or mar this country’s future. We believe
that by being silent, we also lose the moral right to speak up against the injustices
which our people have suffered and continue to suffer within the Nigerian Federation.
Bearing all these in mind, the NDC as a representative group of the ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta, and cognizant of the wishes of our people, stand solidly behind the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.
We therefore use this medium to call on all Niger Deltans and the rest of the country to shun partisan politics and stand for what is right, just and fair, by also supporting and coming out enmass to cast their
vote for Mr Peter Obi. We do not believe Mr Peter Obi will miraculously turn Nigeria
around, but we believe him to be credible, of good character and devoid of the
baggage of corruption plaguing other front runners. We have an opportunity to lay a new foundation, and we must do so on the altar of justice, equity, and fairness and
heal festering wounds that have contributed to our continuous decline as a country.
Mudiaga Ogboru
National Spokesperson, NDC
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