.. Advices him to stop acting like a foreign President

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has urged President Mohammadu
Buhari to dialogue with the Niger Delta Militants, especially the
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) so as to end hostilities in the oil rich
region and save Nigeria economy from imminent collapse.

Governor Fayose said President Buhari’s failure to attend the flag-off of the Clean-Up Ogoni project today, because of threat from the Niger Delta Militants was a demonstration that the President had surrendered to the superior powers of the militants.

It should be recalled that the NDA had warned President Buhari to stay
away from the Niger Delta region if he desired to live.‎

According to a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it
was shameful and embarrassing that President Buhari, a retired
Military General could succumb to threat from militants despite that
he told Nigerians that he was going to lead from the fronts.

Governor Fayose who wondered why the President was not always interested in visiting States in the country as against his penchant for overseas trips, added that it was time that the President stopped acting like a foreign president.

He said it was obvious that the President’s approach to civil unrests
of any kind under the government was causing more security problems in
the country, adding that “the President cannot afford to continue to talk tough on issues that dialogue can resolve.”

The governor said; “Now that the President has surrendered to the
threat and intimidation of the Niger Delta Avengers, he should emulate
late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua by having a roundtable talks with
the Niger Delta Militants.

“By not going to Ogoni today, because of threat from the NDA, our
president has shown that he is actually afraid of the militants and
the best thing to do in a situation like this is to dialogue with the
militants so as to save Nigeria economy from imminent collapse.

“It also shows that the President’s ability to secure Nigeria and its
people is suspect because if the President could succumb to threat
from militants and abandon his official function for his deputy,
ordinary Nigerians should seek help elsewhere.

“The President should therefore save Nigeria the agony of military
misadventure in the Niger Delta by holding dialogue with the militants
with a view to resolving their grievances.”

The Governor also reiterated that “the Niger Delta region as at today
is still the golden goose laying the golden egg on which all other
regions are surviving,” saying; “Diversification as good as it sounds, takes time. We need to appreciate these regions as our only source of income.”