Ex-militant leaders from the Niger Delta region have attributed the defeat of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva to alleged unholy alliance between him and a former militant leader, Government Ekpemukpolo, also known as Tompolo.

They said the previous award of over $370 million belonging to Bayelsa (central corridor) to a contractor in Delta State angered most of the ex-militants in the corridor.

The ex-militants, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the wide acceptance of the winner of the just concluded Bayelsa governorship poll by the electorate, was meant to counter an alleged undemocratic plan by Sylva/Tompolo alliance.

The statement, signed by Fidelis Nagard, also known as ‘Water Python’, said the action of the ex-militant leaders was carried out as a show of force to the Federal Government and the President Bola Tinubu administration that Tompolo is no longer a political factor in the Niger Delta region.

The statement reads: “We had it on good authority that Tompolo promised the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, that he would ensure Chief Timipre Sylva win in Bayelsa State, but the ex-militant leaders agreed on a counter plan to show to the Federal Government that Tompolo is a voodoo priest and not a political guru or a fighter.”

“Tompolo is only riding on past glory in which major ex-militant leaders played vital roles. Tompolo betrayed ex-militant leaders and lied to them to secure the pipeline surveillance contract for himself and his ally.”

The ex-militant leaders called on the Federal Government to ensure that development and empowerment policies for the region are not channeled through Tompolo and his likes, “but the Tinubu administration must deal with each state separately. Any politician that passes through Tompolo will be disgraced and retired like Sylva.”

They also called on the Federal Government to review the crude oil pipeline surveillance contract and ensure that it is decentralised. (The Guardian)

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