P
ort Harcourt—Security agencies have been charged to unmask the identities of those said to be blackmailing the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), describing their alleged act as criminal and unwarranted.
The charge was given Monday by ex-agitators from first, second and third phases of the PAP, who recalled that they earlier raised the alarm that “enemies of the Niger Delta” had launched a campaign of calumny against President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Security Adviser (NSA) and Ndiomu to discredit their achievements in the PAP.
This was contained in a joint statement signed by the Chairman of PAP’s Strategic Communication Committee (STRACOM), Mr. Nature Dumale and the National President, first phase Ex-agitators; HRH Henry Ekes, Ovuru the 1st, popularly called Egbema 1.
Other stakeholders who signed were Heads of First Phase Ex-Agitators, Rivers, Granville Ideye; Bayelsa, Ebite Ifiemi; Second Phase, Sylvester Tambo and National Chairman, Third Phase, Gen. Tonye Bobo.
Reading the statement in Port Harcourt, Dumale said in their recent antics, the detractors circulated a report claiming that certain Niger Delta elders and traditional rulers petitioned Buhari and asked for the suspension of Ndiomu over alleged corrupt practices.
According to him, names contained in the report were fictitious and could neither be traced to any elder nor traditional ruler in the Niger Delta.
Dumale insisted that all the allegations contained in the report were as fictitious, false and preposterous as the faceless individuals making the claims.
“The only interpretation of the action of these faceless individuals and groups is that they are desperately trying to stoke a crisis in the Niger Delta.
“They want the Buhari’s administration to further lose credibility by targeting the only region that has remained peaceful despite the turbulence and separatist agitations in other parts of the country.
“Using the revered traditional institutions to make false claims about one of the most illustrious sons of the Niger Delta like Ndiomu is criminal and blackmail taking too far. This is why we are calling on security agencies to investigate these characters, unmask their identities and arrest them,” the statement reads in part.
Dumale maintained that all ex-agitators were behind Ndiomu and his efficient management of the amnesty programme, especially after all their investigations into allegations levelled against him gave him a clean bill of health.
Traditional rulers in the Niger Delta, elders, chiefs and other stakeholders had also thrown their weight behind Ndiomu for sanitising PAP and sustaining the peace in the region, he added.
He further said: “We, again, warn that we, the owners of PAP, will not fold our arms and allow a few unscrupulous elements, whose source of corrupt enrichment in PA, had been blocked by Ndiomu’s ongoing reforms, to continue to stoke crisis in the region.
“As we strive to unmask the identities of these people and their sponsors, we are calling on the Inspector-General of Police, the National Intelligence Agency, the Department of State Security and other security agencies to go after them.
“The scaremongering of these agents of darkness is designed to cause a riot, disrupt the mainstay of the country’s resources and disorganise the forthcoming elections in the region.
“These people are crisis merchants, who only make money by instigating violence. They derive pleasure from seeing people die. They sponsor protests and cash in on violent agitation for relevance.”
The ex-agitators called on members of the public to disregard all allegations against Ndiomu, adding that PAP has a monthly budget of N5bn, which covers stipends for all ex-agitators, overhead costs and other expenses.
“How can one still steal the kind of money contained in the allegations of these people?” they asked.
