Niger Delta militants threaten to shoot Dickson for owing workers salaries

A group of militants, under the aegis of Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) has vowed to deal with Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson if he continued to owe workers their salaries.

The group described Dickson’s inability to pay local government workers for over 13 months, pensioners for about nine months and workers in the state university, Niger Delta University (NDU) for about seven months as unacceptable.

The group in a statement said after its meeting in Yenagoa, it also resolved to attack more flow stations to express its displeasure in the inability of the Federal Government to address the challenges confronting the Niger Delta region.

Those who endorsed the statement for the group identified themselves as ‘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: “We are warning Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state, to without further delay commence the final payment of all workers, including the old pensioners being 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”.

The militant group said: “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 by avoiding 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 where 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 heads will roll”.

The group also said it planned to attack 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 warned persons staying within its targets to leave, insisting that its mission was to cripple the economy of the country and not to kill anybody.

“The Nigerian securities who are claiming they are securing the oil facilities in the region should stay as their dwelling places and see whether their safety will be guarantee by the music on those days.

“We thank 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 on what to do and those who are on standby in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta and Cross River, await us after Bayelsa state operations.

“We further warn 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 shoot-at-sight 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 return back safely to the struggle base, Bayelsa state”.