Ex-militant leaders from the Niger Delta region have described as “provocative” the recent statements by Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi against the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

They also warned Sheik Gumi and his cohorts against actions that will undermine the peace and tranquility being enjoyed or provoke the people of the Niger Delta region.

They also called on President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dele Alake, to take aggressive action on resource control with the revenues from gold and other mining activities from the North be forcefully demanded and be domiciled in the national treasury.

The ex-militant leaders under the auspices of the Movement for the Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND) in a statement issued via electronic mail and signed by its National Coordinator, Chief Ayibatekena Olodin, expressed the suspicion that Sheik Gumi, like in the shameful days of Boko Haram killings, is allegedly representing groups of corrupt individuals who plunged FCT into an abysmal state.

In the statement, MSDND described Gumi utterance as disheartening, noting that some individuals still engage in hate speech and divisive rhetoric, seeking to use religion to sow seeds of discord among Nigerians. 

They also described the statement as a provocative reminder of the inequality, mass genocide and monumental fraud allegedly perpetuated by Northerners under the failed administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to MSDND, while the people of the Niger Delta region considered Gumi as a dissident in the Northern region, it must be pointed out that the FCT is not a Northern state-owned capital but a detribalised territory owned by all Nigerians. 

“We have resolved to point out to Gumi and his likes that the massive fraud in the FCT including a garnishment order to the tune of $800 million against the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) was perpetuated under a Northern Minister and a Northern President.

“Minister Wike is only taking very hard decisions to restore the economy of the FCT.

“It is a sad reminder that Gumi could not speak out when his alleged sponsors were kidnapping, maiming and killing Northerners under the guise of Islamist fundamentalism, where was he when former President Buhari used Nigeria’s infrastructures and souls of Nigerians to borrow Money? Suddenly, he has turned to an activist against the new FCT administration.

“We challenge Sheik Gumi and his cohorts to mention a state governor that has performed better in their Northern states than Wike, since advent of democratic rule. Wike is the pride of the Niger Delta region.”

The ex-militant leaders however said that despite the provocative stance of Gumi and his cohorts, the people of the region stand firm in support of their son, brother and leader, Nyosom Wike and called on the security agencies to immediately commence investigation of Gumi over his alleged ties to terrorists and their activities across the country. 

“We are ready to cut off the Northern states from crude oil exploration revenue if the monies from mining activities are not domicile with the Federal Government.”(THIS DAY)