By  Emma AMAIZI, Warri
NIGER Delta Youth Movement (NDYM), yesterday, urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to give in to the blackmail of a group of self_styled Northern leaders, allegedly packaged by former military President, General Ibrahim Babaginda, ex_Vice President Atiku  Abubakar and others to  stop him form exercising his basic constitutional rights in 2011. 

President of the NDYM, Prince Ajulisan Akumagba in a statement made available to Vanguard in Warri said, “ It has come to the notice of the leadership of the Niger Delta Youth Movement (NDYM) that a group of self_style Northern leaders hurriedly packaged by IBB, Atiku and other faceless individuals claiming to represent the voice of the North are trying to blackmail the President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from exercising his basic constitutional right, come 2011”.

His words, “The position of the Movement is that the individuals mentioned above are political jobbers who don’t have the authority and mandate of the generality of the genuine Northern leaders to engage in such despicable blackmail and therefore are on their own selfish end”.

“We are in close contact and have made wider consultations with the youth wing of ACF, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Afenifere and other relevant stakeholders and the general consensus is that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should not be blackmailed out of the race come 2011 provided he has the potentials of providing the dividends of democracy,  which include free and fair election, constant electricity, good roads, health and education of the citizens of the country without any form of discrimination, favoritism, ethnicism or religious sentiments.

“We, therefore, call on all genuine leaders and elites from the Northern_West, North_East, North_Central, South_West, South_East, South_South to stand up to the protection of the constitution so that these few self_styled leaders would not swallow the voice of the genuine masses of Nigeria that the constitution represent”, he stated.

Akumagba asserted, “Now that the President had set the stage for free, fair and credible elections  by appointing credible and non_partisan INEC Chairman and Commissioners and had set the machinery in motion for the immediate withdrawal of all PDP or political appointees in INEC, we give him  kudos and maximum encouragement and unreserved support as he delivers the dividends of democracy”.

“As far as we are concerned, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should consider his ability to deliver dividends of democracy as his sole qualification to contest the 2011 general Presidential Election and not the cheap blackmail from few self_imposed leaders”, he added.