AKANIMO SAMPSON

NIGERIA: MILITANTS HALT ATTACK AS SENATE DECIDES ON JONATHAN

IT was a cocktail of mixed reactions in the Niger Delta on Tuesday following the Senate decision for Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to be sworn in as Nigeria's Acting President due to the seeming disappearance of President Umaru Yar'Adua since November 23, 2009.

Already, the Co-ordinator of the Network of Freedom Fighters in the Niger Delta (NFF), Mr. Nengi James, said in appreciation of the senate resolution, they have directed all their members and affiliate organisations to stand down their planned strike on strategic facilities and institutions in the country.

''We are very grateful to God for the long awaited and historical senate resolution on Section 145 of the Constitution. The resolution is wholely accepted for the best interest of Nigeria. It is the beauty of democracy, and for the country to move forward; believing that the 140 million Nigerians may henceforth sleep well since the right thing is done to avert tension. We have directed all our members and affiliate organisations to stand down our planned strike on strategic facilities and institutions''.

For Mr. Abel Oshevire, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly: ''It is a great relief. Even though they have acted late, thereby heating up the polity unnecessarily. It is better than never. Nigerians must be grateful to the Almighty God who made it possible for senators to take this landmark decision. Nigerians must also be grateful to all those who have been in the forefront of the struggle for the empowerment of the Vice President to act as President in the absence of his boss. The need for the National Assembly to now urgently amend the relevant section of the constitution regarding the position of the vice president in the absence of the president has been very apparent''.

Spokesperson for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Bari-ara Kpalap, had this to say when our correspondent called him on phone: ''It is a welcomed development and triumph of justice over injustice although belated. It's disappointing that the Senate\National Assembly\Peoples Democratic Party\Forces of darkness had to act due to intense pressure after over 75 days of national disgrace. Their behaviour has exposed us as lacking respect for constitutionalism and democratic best practices''.

On his part, a Kalabari activist, Mr. Johnny Soye Lulu-Baranga, said Section 145 of the constitution ''clearly explains at what point the Vice President should step into the President's shoes. In my view, the senate is begging the issue in the sence that they should have acted as at when due to avoid the current crisis. However, it is better late than never''.

Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Mr. Nnimmo Bassey: ''The senate finally woke up from slumber. This was long overdue. It is a shame to our political leaders that they allowed this mess to drag on for so long. But, we still need to know the true state of President Umaru Yar'Adua's health. We deserve to know the truth, the whole truth''.

And from the founding Director of Ijaw Council for Human Rights, Mr. Patterson Ogon, came this reaction: ''The integrity of the country and respect for the constitution must be uppermost in the minds of our political leaders. The senate resolution, coming as a face-saving measure now, may well point us to redeeming whatever is left of our pride and conscience as a country. The fate of 140 million Nigerians need not wait for a president that has been sick and out of the country for over two months in search of health help.''

A seeming left-wing group, the Niger Delta Patriotic Front, that has Mr. Dan Anderson as its Co-ordinator said: ''We are seeing the whole drama as a shame. As an organisation, we are of the view that there is no constitution yet in Nigeria. The crisis has also exposed the fact that Nigeria is still a country of many antagonistic nations. Our take is that if the Vice President were to be a Northerner, the mess would not have happened. The North would have since cause him toi be sworn in as Acting President. The Ijaw people and other micro-ethnic nationalities are yet to be part of Nigeria''.

Mr. Uko Okopide, a Port Harcourt-based public relations consultant, however, said he is for measures that will enable the vice president to act as president. ''But, the senate resolution may not be a substitute for section 145 of the constitution. The gang that is putting Nigeria through this stress will face public anger in due time''.

For the Chairman of the central co-ordinating committee of the Niger Delta Youth Parliament, Mr. Imoh Okoko, ''the senate decision is a welcomed development''. ENDS