Niger Delta groups want Tinubu to retain Ndiomu as PAP boss

Forum 11 months ago

Niger Delta groups want Tinubu to retain Ndiomu as PAP boss

The Niger Delta Civil Society Groups, have called on the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to retain Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) as the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The coalition, which includes the Niger Delta Solidarity Forum, Niger Delta Progressive Front and Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Movement, made the call in a joint statement obtained by Vanguard in Abuja on Saturday.

They said, “We call on the incoming President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to retain an upright man like Ndiomu to continue his good work in the office.”

This was as the groups described an open letter written by some faceless groups as ‘untrue, fallacious, and regrettable.’ They said the open letter was devoid of truth and could be inciting.

The statement read, “It is worrisome that the writers of the open letter admitted that there was a case of multiple accounts being operated by a single individual detected by the forensic exercise conducted by the Barry Ndiomu-led Amnesty Programme. What is more worrisome is that the group admitted to such fraud with either a weak defence in a shameful manner.

“What would have been the fate of those who are legitimately entitled to a N65,000 monthly stipend when certain people decided to use various crooks and means to divert multiple people’s entitlement? “What is more worrisome is that these unscrupulous people have been benefitting illegally from other people’s proceeds before the current administration detected it and stopped it.

“Though the Amnesty Programme was designed to redeem ex-Agitators from the shackles of violence, destruction, and civil unrest, the Ndiomu leadership has continued to prioritize the interest of these people, even when he inherited backlogs of unpaid stipends from previous administrators, he never gave excuse in discharging his duty.

“We have gotten to a stage in our life where we need to start eschewing every form of dishonesty and acts that are counter-productive to the Niger Delta region. If we are very vocal on manners in which certain politicians have amassed wealth for themselves at the detriment of the people, we then, need to serve as a right example.

“The public need to disregard those spurious lies because they are capable of harming our collective progress. Those who are legitimately qualified for the monthly stipend have continued to show appreciation to the Interim Administrator for the timely payment.

“We associate with the people’s General, an administrator par excellence, and agree with his efforts at sanitizing the system. It is only when we have a sanitized system that the money can go around to everyone qualified people.”