Port Harcourt—Ex-militant leaders from the Niger Delta region have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) as the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The ex-agitators who made this known in a statement signed by Comrade Samuel Seipuolo, after a meeting held on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also urged all aggrieved stakeholders in the region to sheath their sword and support Ndiomu to enable Buhari to finish strong across the region.
According to them, “despite the tensions generated by the earlier threat of the shutdown of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), the Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) led management team, however, navigated the affairs of the Amnesty office and managed the collective opinions of stakeholders to ensure that the Federal Government reverse the shutdown plan.”
The group also acknowledged the achievements of PAP under the leadership of Ndiomu to include the engagement of Amnesty beneficiaries, the emergence of about 10 first-class degree graduates and 61 second-class upper honours graduates at the Admiralty University of Nigeria, Ebusa, Delta State.
“The Ndiomu-led Amnesty office has also ensured the regular payment of stipends to all genuinely verified beneficiaries.
“The Amnesty office has also ensured that there is an existing excellent relationship with the ex-militant leaders and efforts to fracture that friendship will end in futility. Major General Ndiomu remains resolute, forthright and unwavering in his commitment to the ideals of the Amnesty Programme.
“Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) is full of confidence in his ability to transform the ex-agitators of the Amnesty Programme into self-sufficient and well-rounded citizens of our beloved nation.”
“Since his inception into office, he has had multiple productive interfaces with government and corporate agencies to ensure proper reintegration of beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme,”the statement reads.
They noted that he has ensured prompt, regular payments of stipends and allowances to Amnesty beneficiaries.
The ex-agitators who averred that he has restored sanity and transparency in the programme reckoned that he has also demonstrated sufficient commitment towards the sustenance of peace and development across the Niger Delta region.
