Yenagoa—Comrade Tonye Bobo, the national leader of Third Phase ex-agitators of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to ignore calls to scuttle the re-appointment of the PAP helmsman, Retired Major General Barry Ndiomu.
According to the former militant leader, those calling for his sack are merely doing a hatchet job for their sponsors to discredit his immense achievements to achieve their selfish aim which is against the real delegates and stakeholders of the programme.
Bobo who made the appeal while addressing newsmen at the PAP liaison office in Yenagoa on Monday said the calls against Ndiomu’s reappointment at the expiration of his first tenure in office are part of the calculated campaigns of calumny against him that should be ignored completely.
Bobo who doubles as the Director of Mobilization, Presidential Amnesty Strategic Communication Committee took a swipe at one Barr. Jeremiah Charles Ikpaka for making baseless allegations against Ndiomu.
“Therefore, as the third phase leader of PAP, I will like to passionately appeal to President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to ignore calls and cheap blackmails by those who are doing a hatchet job for their sponsors to discredit the achievements of Nidomu against his re-appointment,” he stated.
Commending the PAP interim administration, Bobo said, “So far, the achievements of Ndiomu, without any iota of doubt, speak for themselves: Ndiomu within this short period in office has blocked all loopholes of corruption in the programme.
“The Amnesty boss, within his nine (9) months in office, has off-set debts owed to students studying at home and abroad, and those in vocational training centers and payment of contractors.
“He has also redirected and redefined the primary aims and objectives of the Amnesty programme—Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-Integration (DDR).
“Reaching out to Federal Government Agencies and Parastatals for employment to ex-agitators.
“The timely payment of the monthly stipend to beneficiaries, among other laudable achievements.
“I also wish to use this medium to vehemently debunk claims by one Barr. Jeremiah Charles Ikpaka, who has gone out of his way by being unprofessional and firing canons from all sides, averring that Ndiomu is corrupt.
“He together with his cohorts and sponsors in their deadly mission of seeing nothing good in Ndiomu, except themselves.”
Bobo noted that Ndiomu is a refined and highly disciplined retired military officer with a sound professional legal background that “knows what is right or wrong in any given situation or task.”
He further bemoaned the hasty appraisal of PAP leaders, maintaining that Ndiomu has both the capacity and the political will to redirect and change the narrative of the programme.
“I wish to also state that, we are too quick to assess the performance of our leaders in PAP without giving them enough time to accomplish their assignment before throwing stones, a situation that has become endemic with us.
“As for Ndiomu, he has the capacity and the political will to redirect and change the narrative of the programme.
“The good news is that Ndiomu has redirected the template of ex-agitators by changing the narrative from the dependence on (N65,000) monthly stipend to Entrepreneurship, Employers of labour, and Self-reliance with the recent launching of (N1.5 billion) for the Presidential Amnesty (Beneficiaries) Co-operatives Society Ltd (PACOSOL).
“In line with the ongoing comprehensive restructuring and with renewed hope agenda, Ndiomu is working hard to ensure that the pivoted programme of PAP, was strengthened and sustained,” he stated.
Bobo opined that Ndiomu’s vision is anchored on good conscience and devotion to the benefit of PAP beneficiaries and the region at large.
He disclosed that the PAP boss has engaged all critical stakeholders in the region, including traditional rulers, government agencies and various leaders of ex-agitators to fine-tune the programme for good.
