The Niger Delta Elders Forum (NDEF) has said that President Goodluck Jonathan should not count on the support of people of the South-South geo-political zone in 2015 if he fails to address their demands.
The elders, in statement in Port Harcourt, signed by chairman of the forum, Etubong Alphonsus Duke, and secretary, Apostle Nelson Baribote, expressed their disappointment in the incumbent administration.
The statement said that although all Nigerians massively voted for President Jonathan in 2011, his strongest support and largest votes came from the South-South, but frowned that the president had not rewarded the people’s love and loyalty.
They cited the state of the East-West Road, the only road linking the oil-rich region with the rest of the country, and the poor performance of his key ministers from the region as some of the reasons for his poor rating with his people.
The elders also urged President Jonathan to sack some of his ministers who are in charge of matters directly affecting the region and assign people, from any part of the country, who would take the matters of the region seriously.
The statement reads, “There is no gainsaying that the East-West Road is the bedrock of the region’s development, even as its deplorable condition has also been over-flogged in the media.
“We therefore state categorically that the president has failed the people. The minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has also failed, having lacked the dexterity to explore other means for the construction of the road. We, therefore, support the call made by Mujaheed Asari Dokubo that the minister be sacked and replaced with a more vibrant person. Wherever the person comes from does not matter.”