Billionaire Ayiri Emami, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ally of James Ibori, former Governor of the state, has predicted that Ibori who is currently serving a jail term in the United Kingdom, would return home to Nigeria, not later than July.
Speaking with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondent Chapel, on Friday, Emami, disclosed that he plans to embark on a campaign to mobilise stakeholders and resources to bring a lasting solution to the menace of vandalisation of oil facilities in the Niger-Delta which he said was causing huge damage to the nation’s economy.
“There have been speculations as to when Ibori would return, but I can confidently tell you that by June or at most July, he would return home to Nigeria and we all need him, especially in Delta to sanitise things again,” he declared.
“If he were here, a lot of things would not have happened. Ibori was one of those who predicted that Goodluck Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, would not win the 2015 Presidential election.
“It was fear of the unknown that made his brother, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to remain in PDP. I listened to Ibori, I had to leave”
“The gas Nigeria produces supplies electricity to several parts of the country, but the communities from where it is being extracted don’t have electricity. The crude oil from the land is refined into fuel but there are no fuel distribution outlets to serve riverine communities so they perpetually buy from the black market.
“People are shouting now about fuel scarcity because of recent irregularity in importation, but year in year out, coastal communities in Niger Delta never get fuel at the normal pump price.
“My campaign to be unfolded soon is to ensure the adequate provision of infrastructure and opportunities in the oil producing area so that vandalism will stop.
“Far from applying force to shut out the vandals. The whole idea is to ensure that the oil and gas being taken from the region make meaning in the lives of the host communities. We’ll not achieve this if the vandalisation continues,” Ayiri added.
Ibori was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under Interpol arrest warrants issued from United Kingdom courts enacted by the Metropolitan Police and was convicted in April 2012 by a Southwark Crown Court, UK, for money laundering and conspiracy, and handed a 13-year jail sentence.
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