Federal Government of Nigeria has lamented that some of the ex-militants that made sacrifices that led to the establishment of the amnesty programme have been shortchanged with nothing to show for their sacrifices.
This was stated by the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Major Gen. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (retd), following complaints of neglect by majority of Niger Delta ex-militants.
Consequently, Gen. Ndiomu has told the ex-agitators to work closely with the Presidential Amnesty Office to redesign the programme to be inclusive to enable them reap from their sacrifices to restore peace in the Niger Delta region.
Gen. Ndiomu stated this when he met with leaders of phase One, Two and Three of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in separate meetings in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to him, “There are a lot of misgivings in the way and manner the programme is being handled. Many of you are not feeling the impact of the programme, while a few others are feeding fat in the name of the programme. If they call you ex-agitators, that means you should be the first persons to benefit from the programme before any other because of the huge sacrifices you made to restore peace in the Niger Delta region.
“That you are not benefitting from the programme implies that the programme needs to be redesigned in such a way that it can benefit you, hence the need to re-evaluate and rejig the programme to make it more beneficial to you. Therefore, I want you to buy the idea and think of the next steps that we can collectively take to make this programme more impactful in the region.
“With your inputs, we can work together to find lasting solutions to the myriad of challenges that the programme is currently facing. We need to look at some ways of transforming the amnesty programme into an agency that will be more inclusive in terms of benefits to the ex-agitators and by extension, to the people of the Niger Delta region.
“We will revisit the programme again to redesign it. From your complaints here, it is clear that the amnesty programme has been diluted with strange names. While you are alive and you are not even benefitting from what you fought by endangering your lives.
“We have to work together to actualise the original vision of the programme. We will work with you to bring about positive changes that will benefit all of you.
“I like to use this medium to inform you that the federal government has no plans to replace the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) with the ongoing pipeline surveillance contracts as is being speculated in some quarters. We must find solution to the challenges bevelling the programme. Your sacrifices should not go in vain.
“I want to assure that we will be in the Niger Delta region more often than in Abuja. Going forward, you will be made to actively participate in the redesigning of the programme. This programme will transit into a better scheme that will be more inclusive”, Maj. Gen. Idiomu reiterated.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the success story of the programme with all the vocational skills training centres not yet completed after several years of award contracts to build for vocational skills training programmes
He said, “There is the urgent need to redesign the programme along the natural skills and occupation and occupation of our people. We want to be fully involved in all economic activities across the Niger Delta region. Our people are naturally good in fishing, aquaculture, agriculture and can be fully engaged in the blue economy, including such areas like diving, underwater welding and general maritime operations.
“Just sitting down to collect 65 thousand naira monthly could even encourage laziness among our young people. We should be clever enough to be able to participate in the oil and gas sector by acquiring the necessary skills that are needed to engage in the oil and gas sector. So many contracts have been awarded over the years by the the Presidential Amnesty office that have not yielded the desired impact.”
