Group Alleges Plot To Sponsor Protests Against Wabote, Sylva

The Niger Delta Justice Forum (NDJF) says it has uncovered a plot to sponsor protests against a former executive secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote, and a former Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva.

A statement yesterday by the coordinator, Sorowei Johnson, said a protest was scheduled to hold in Abuja at the premises of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of ongoing sponsored campaigns of calumny against Wabote and Sylva.
Johnson said that the action was being planned by a former member of the House of Representatives, Israel Sunny Goli, and bankrolled by the junior minister of Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri.

“Already, hundreds of willing youths are being recruited by Sunny-Goli for an agreed fee and they will be transported to the EFCC office in Abuja for the purpose of this evil mission,” Johnson alleged.

He said the protest was borne out of malice to stampede the anti-graft agency to act over what it described as frivolous petition to the agency against Wabote.

He urged the anti-graft agency and relevant security agencies to be on the watch, lamenting that the protest could destabilise the peace in the capital territory.

Johnson advised the EFCC to remain professional and resist the plot to coerce it into taking any hasty step in the feud involving Sylva, Wabote and Lokpobiri.

He wondered why Lokpobiri would be so desperate to malign Sylva and Wabote in his quest for some political advantage that he would resort to creating further security challenges at the FCT.

Johnson said Sunny-Goli, an ally of Lokpobiri, should have submitted his frivolous petition and allow EFCC to carry out its investigation instead of trying to mount pressure on the agency with protest.