President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has banned all ex-militant leaders of the Niger Delta from visiting him at the presidential villa, Leadership reports.
It was learned that requests for courtesy visits from notable militant leaders and ethnic militias from the oil-rich region to Tinubu at the villa have recently been rejected by the presidency. Tinubu by the leader of the defunct Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahedeen Asari-Dokubo, on June 16 this year.
It was believed that when Tinubu ordered the action, he was disturbed by public expressions and actions by Asari-Dokubo in the wake of his visit to him days after he took office as Nigeria’s 16th president.
Sources in the presidency told Leadership Newspaper that Dokubo’s outbursts against the military near the villa raised suspicions that the president shared the same view as the notable ex-militant commander.
“The president has issued a directive that he does not want to meet any warlord or ethnic militia from the Niger Delta after the horrific experience when he granted an audience to Mujarhedeen Asari-Dokubo,” the source noted.
Recall that during his last visit to the presidential villa, Asari Dokubo accused the armed forces of involvement in economic sabotage, including theft of crude oil and vandalism of oil equipment in the Niger Delta region.
This allegation reportedly sparked concern and unrest within the presidency.
Sources within the presidency further revealed that the fallout from Asari-Dokubo’s visit and subsequent actions led President Tinubu to distance himself from former militant leaders and ethnic militias from the oil-rich region.