Anita Ogona
A socio-political pressure group, the Niger Delta Advancement Frontiers (NDAF), has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of allegedly orchestrating the pipeline explosion that rocked Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Addressing journalists in Bomadi, Delta State, NDAF spokesman Tianabeso Abere claimed that Wike had previously hinted at such an incident during a media chat, where he reportedly suggested that pipeline sabotage was not exclusive to the Ijaw people but had also been carried out by other ethnic groups, including his own—the Ikwerres.
According to Abere, the explosion was a deliberate ploy to terminate the pipeline surveillance contracts currently handled by ex-Niger Delta agitators. He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and prevent what he described as an impending crisis fueled by Wike’s alleged desperation for power.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the fire incident at the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). In a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the police disclosed that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion. Two individuals have already been taken in for questioning as part of efforts to uncover any possible act of sabotage.
The police assured the public that those responsible for criminal activities in the region would be identified and brought to justice.
