Tension Heightens Over Ban Of N’Delta Ex-agitators From Aso Rock

By Peters Monday, Abuja

Following accusations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of building belligerents as regards the pending election tribunal which is threatening his election victory, the federal government of Nigeria has barred former leader of Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Alhaji Asari Dokubo and all ex-Niger Delta militant leaders from visiting him in the presidential villa, Abuja.

Meanwhile, the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been seen in some quarters as a move to fight notable ex-warlords in the Niger Delta region.

Angered by the move, some ex-agitators had been threatening war in a situation the ban subsists, and clampdown was initiated against Niger Delta people.

It was gathered that Dokubo, banking on his relationship with the president, have been making public utterances that might incite the public against the government.

Following the above, requests for courtesy visits by notable ex-militant leaders and ethnic militias from the oil-rich Niger Delta region to Tinubu in the villa had lately been disapproved by the presidency.

The president’s decision came on the heel of the visit to Tinubu by the leader of the defunct Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujarhedeen Asari-Dokubo, on June 16 this year.

Congress news gathered that Asari Dokubo was a die-hard and staunchest supporter of Tinubu, backed and supported the president in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election.

A presidency source said Tinubu was worried over “verbal vituperations and militant activities” of Asari-Dokubo in the Niger Delta and was subsequently linked to him after the June audience with the notable activist.

It was reported that just after the meeting at the Villa, Asari-Dokubo, in a briefing with the State House reporters, swooped on the Armed Forces, accusing its personnel of being neck-deep in economic sabotage, especially crude oil theft and vandalism of oil equipment in the region.

The source alleged that the Asari Dokubo’s outbursts embarrassed and shocked Tinubu, having done moments after departing the state house.

According to the presidency, Dokubo’s outbursts against the military within the vicinity of the villa gave the inkling that the president shared the same views with the notable ex-militant commander.