Malabu deal: Reps should compel Jonathan’s appearance, says MEND

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger
Delta has charged the House of Representatives to
compel former President Goodluck Jonathan to
appear before it should he refuse to honour an
invitation over the controversy surrounding the OPL
245 Malabu oil deal .
   MEND said in a statement by its spokesperson, Jomo
Gbomo , on Monday that the role played by the
former President in the deal had tainted the
country ’ s image locally and internationally.
Explaining that it had reasonable grounds to suspect
that Jonathan might have compromised his former
office as far as the Malabu oil deal was concerned ,
the Niger Delta militant group added that key
officials in his administration had been charged to
court over the matter.
MEND said , “ Former President Goodluck Jonathan is
reported to have received the whooping sum of
$200m as kickback from the controversial OPL 245
Malabu oil deal .
“ We are compelled by natural justice , equity and
good conscience to lend our voice against the most
ignoble and despicable role played by the former
President in the messy affair which has tainted the
image of Nigeria both locally and internationally.
“ Like millions of Nigerians at home and in the
Diaspora , who have keenly followed the OPL 245
saga, we have reasonable grounds to suspect that
former President Jonathan may have indeed
compromised his high office with regard to the
matter , more especially, given the fact that key
officials of his administration , including the then
Attorney General of the Federation, Mr . Mohammed
Bello Adoke , have been indicted and charged before
the Federal High Court in Abuja .
       “ We are, therefore, in full support of moves by the
House of Representatives to summon the former
President to appear before the House to give answers
to the myriad of questions concerning his role in
OPL 245. Where he refuses to honour the invitation ,
we urge the House to invoke its inherent powers to
compel his appearance.”
On the alleged plan by Shell Petroleum Development
Company to relocate to Lagos , MEND urged the oil
firm to shelve the idea , warning that it would not
hesitate to reconsider its unilateral ceasefire of May
30, 2014 should SPDC decide to relocate to Lagos from
Port Harcourt .
“ To be sure , the Niger Delta region is no longer
hostile to the business interests of the IOCs ,
including SPDC, as peace has since returned to the
area; following the enervating efforts of the
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ,
the Pan -Niger Delta Forum, the various state
governments , as well as the Federal Government.
“ There is , therefore , no reason whatsoever for SPDC
to relocate back to Lagos. We use this opportunity to
warn that we shall reconsider the unilateral ceasefire
of May 30, 2014 if SPDC relocates back to Lagos , ” the
militant group stressed.