Yenagoa—The President, National Association of Presidential Amnesty Students Worldwide (NAPASW), Comr. Patrick Ipidei has taken a swipe at one Comr. Preye Bagou, who called for the sack of the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd).
Ipidei said Bagou should rather channel his energy on something that will be of immense benefit to himself and his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he is currently serving as the publicity secretary at the local government level.
The Amnesty student leader noted that contrary to Bagou’s contention, the “Amnesty Office is not an appendage of any political party and should only be assessed based on his stewardship of the programme that exists to cater to the needs of real delegates and stakeholders.”
Ipidei thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for “overlooking primordial sentiments and self-serving lobbyists in his choice of Ndiomu”, whom he said has brought order and courageously tackled the challenges facing the Amnesty Programme.
The statement reads in part:
“I wish to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing a true Niger Delta son in the person of retired Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu as Interim Administrator of the Amnesty Programme.
“I recognize the pressure mounted on Mr. President by disgruntled elements to discontinue the programme.
“These are elements who are pained by the sanity Ndiomu has brought into the programme. They do not mean well for the Niger Delta people in particular and the nation at large.
“Mr. President did not only snub the lobbyists and other elements like Preye Bagou, but he also appointed Ndiomu, a man without blemish”.
“I wish to place on record that Ndiomu’s appointment is not politically motivated. Since he arrived at the Amnesty office, he has allowed an audit of the Programme’s activities which has exposed several fraudulent activities.
“He brought in reforms that have helped to block the leakages and conduits through which many criminal-minded persons have been profiting and stealing money meant for the genuine ex-militants.”
Ipidei revealed that in barely seven months, “Ndiomu has saved the PAP over N1.5 billion inflated contracts and has effectively positioned the Programme towards achieving its core mandate of addressing the needs of ex-militants rather than meeting the needs of some selected few.”
He noted that the culture of probity, transparency and accountability instituted by Ndiomu is already yielding positive results and the intention to turn Amnesty Office into a conduit pipe for any political will not be allowed as PAP is meant for all ex-agitators and stakeholders from impacted communities.
“The incoming government should sustain the culture of probity and fiscal responsibility instituted by Ndiomu to stave off agitations in the future,” he added.
