Second
Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday, slammed President
Goodluck Jonathan for awarding multi-million Naira pipeline protection
contracts to Niger Delta militants of Ijaw extraction, describing the action as
illegal and self-serving.
Mohammed, who spoke in an exclusive interview
with Vanguard, noted that it was unbecoming of the administration to single out
certain virulent individuals and groups from a particular section of the
country for undeserving economic and financial gratification and empowerment
while others languish in abject poverty and deprivation under a democratic
government.
The politician noted with dismay that the
Nigerian police and other security agencies whose duties is to protect oil
facilities and other national infrastructure, have been divested of such
statutory roles ostensibly for the selfish interest of some groups and
individuals who committed unmitigated atrocities against the country.
The former
National Assembly adviser to President Shagari noted that apart from having no
place in the laws of Nigeria, the outsourcing of such security jobs to private
armies portended serious danger to the nation.
Mohammed stated that: “By flagrantly subverting
the constitution to award mouth-watering pipeline protection jobs to terrorist
groups, this administration is merely trying to overreach itself. This is a
dangerous precedent in the annals of Nigeria.
“Any attempt to justify this on any ground will
portend great danger for Nigeria and its people and it is important for
Nigerians to rise up and speak against the emerging evil.
“As far as we know, trying to glorify or reward
terrorism directly or indirectly will have far-reaching negative consequences
for the country and dent our image as a peace-loving people.
“I am happy that former President Obasanjo has
already spoken against the evil of rewarding terrorists with government jobs so
as to win their support but let us not forget that trying to corrode democracy
will certainly hurt the country in many ways”.
Source: Vanguard
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