Abuja—President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Jonathan Lokpobiri, has advocated for an upward review of the allocation accruable to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) from the federal government.
Lokpobiri made the call on Monday in Abuja while on a courtesy visit to the PAP Interim Administrator, retired Major General Barry Ndiomu.
He called for support from the Federal Government to enable the PAP to meet up with current realities and expectations.
While noting that the Programme has been “tremendously successful” in terms of impacting the lives of young Niger Deltans, he expressed the commitment and readiness of the IYC as the umbrella body of young people in the region to partner and work “strategically” with Ndiomu to further reposition the PAP.
The IYC president further said, “With the fast decrease in value of the Naira, a N65 billion annual funding is a far cry. N65 billion of now cannot do what N65 billion of before would have done.
“It is our appeal to the Government of President Bola Tinubu that there needs to be a review.”
The youth leader disclosed that the IYC is currently building a Training Center in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, as part of its contribution to building the capacity of youths.
Lokpobiri noted that upon completion of the Center, the IYC will enter a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for professional services and advice.
In his response, Ndiomu commended the IYC President for his acknowledgment of the paucity of funds available to the PAP to run its programmes.
“When people make comments without getting their facts right, it becomes displeasing,” he said of Lokpobiri’s acknowledgment of the current realities of the value of naira to the dollar.”
Ndiomu further charged the IYC leadership to take up the responsibility of preaching the many success stories of the PAP to young people in the region, adding that “the culture of laziness and indolence should be dropped by young people who should think of bigger ways to sustainably improve their lives.”
Clearing the air on Amnesty’s Scholarship programmes, Ndiomu reiterated that his administration has cleared all academic bills of its beneficiaries, both for local and foreign students.
The PAP boss called on the Ijaw nation to “check its excesses”, and explore ways of working with other ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta region to drive “peace, unity and harmony.”
While further decrying the “disturbing” level of poverty in Ijaw land, the Interim Administrator expressed worry that young people in the Niger Delta are not taking full advantage of the enormous opportunities in the region.
He added that young people can leverage the vast natural habitat for rice farming and the untapped potential of oil palm production.
Ndiomu equally renewed his call for the possibility of the Presidential Amnesty Programme transitioning into a Social Intervention Programme.
