Yenagoa—Third Phase ex-agitators of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) have accused Great Joshua Maclver Bayelsa Operations Coordinator of Tantita Security Services, the security firm handling the pipeline surveillance contract of alleged refusal to engage stakeholders and impacted communities.
The ex-agitators made this known in a press statement signed by its national leader, Tonye Bobo after an emergency stakeholders meeting held in Yenagoa, wanting inclusion in the contract for their contributions towards sustainable peace in the region.
The statement revealed that a 72-day ultimatum given to Maclver to dialogue with them has not yielded any positive result, stressing that he has refused to communicate with the group.
“We wish to meet with Maclver for a meeting and discussion of the way forward because the third phase ex-agitators cannot be excluded in the pipeline contract job.
“We are marginalized and deprived of what is genuinely our right in the scheme of things. We also wish to remind Maclver that we are also leaders and by right we are the ones that are supposed to kick-start the contract,” the group said.
They urged Maclver to meet with them to form a common font for inclusion in the pipeline surveillance contract, warning that failure to meet with the group may hamper the desired goal of curbing oil theft in the region.
While appealing to him to emulate Tompolo by engaging stakeholders and impacted communities as beneficiaries of the job, they also called on Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State to intervene in the issue.
It will be recalled that beneficiaries of the second and third phases of the PAP had last week staged a protest at Maclver’s residence over their non-inclusion in the pipeline surveillance contract in the state.
Addressing the protesters, Mr. Timi-Igoli Timi, Chief of Staff to MacIver, assured them that the recruitment process for the surveillance job is still ongoing.
While pleading for their patience, Igoli reiterated that the recruitment exercise is an all-inclusive one aimed at capturing all relevant stakeholders in the various catchment areas across the state.
He pointed out that the recruitment exercise will not only capture 2nd and 3rd phase Amnesty beneficiaries but also accommodate People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs)
“All stakeholders have already been mapped out for different time frames and they will all be attended to by the end of October 2022,” he added.
