How MEND Bombed and nearly killed me---President Jonathan , says Henry Okah never liked him

President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that the bomb blast which rocked the Nigeria’s 50^th Independence anniversary near the Eagle Square, Abuja in October 2010 at the instance of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta was part of a plot to assassinate him.


Jonathan made the disclosure in Lagos during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign flag-off, stressing that the leader of MEND who is currently serving jail terms in South-Afrifca was the one hired to assassinate him.
The President who looked charged as he addressed the Lagos crowd said this against the backdrop of reports that the MEND had rejected his re-turn to power bid, while endorsing the candidature of General Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag-bearer.
He said, I read in the newspaper that a group called MEND said they are not supporting me. The leader of MEND is one Okah, who is a South African prison.
“Okah is in a South African prison because of 1st October 2010 when we were to celebrate our 50 years of independence, Okah was procured by some Nigerians to assassinate me and Okah bombed Abuja.
“The attempt was to assassinate me, but intelligence investigation from the South African and Nigerian intelligence system roped him in on the plan to assassinate me and they say MEND dumped Jonathan”.
The President then asked his crowd of supporters, “Okah that wanted to assassinate Jonathan, will he support Jonathan?”
Meanwhile, the President Jonathan’s Special Assistant on Media, Reuben Abati in a statement said “While we thank all people of the Niger Delta, including the former militants whom MEND claims to represent who have already disassociated themselves from the statement issued by the faceless Jomo Gbomo and reaffirmed their unflinching support for President Jonathan’s re-election, we will like to state that the latest assault on the President by Henry Okah and his stooges did not come as a surprise to us at all.

“It was very much to be expected, coming as it did from an individual and group who have never hidden their vengeful personal animosity against the President and who have even gone to the extent of launching murderous assaults on venues at which the President was present on two occasions.
“It is most regrettable indeed that rather than show remorse for the terrorist acts against his fatherland for which he is now rightly serving a term of imprisonment in South Africa, Henry Okah continues to pursue a pointless personal vendetta against President Jonathan who continues to advance and protect the interests of the people of the Niger Delta which Okah and his group threatened with their misguided actions.
“The vituperations against President Jonathan in the MEND statement endorsing General Buhari are mischievous, baseless and deliberately styled to denigrate the good works of the President.
“It is well known that President Jonathan played a significant role in ending the militancy and insurgency in the Niger Delta.
“Under his watch, the destruction of oil facilities and the incessant kidnapping and killing of expatriates in the Niger Delta waterways have become a thing of the past.
The attempt by Jomo Gbomo’s MEND to rewrite history by tarnishing the person of President Jonathan for selfish, pecuniary and political gains will amount to an exercise in futility.