Why Buhari should appoint Niger Deltan as PAP coordinator, by groups

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and a coalition of Niger Delta activists have canvassed the appointment of person without proper knowledge of the region to head the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

They lamented that the appointment of persons from the region to head its caretaker committee was absurd and should be disbanded with immediate effect.

IYC President, Eric Omare, said the amnesty programme has been crisis ridden because the Federal Government has appointed people who not understand the issues that culminated in the establishment of the programme to coordinate its affairs.

He explained that the amnesty programme, which started in 2009, should have been over by now if the Federal Government had trained all the ex-agitators, who enrolled in the programme.

He advised President Muhammadu Buhari to nominee someone from the Niger Delta who understands the issues affecting the region to oversee the amnesty office.

According to him, the reason Major General Paul Boroh and Professor Charles Dokubo failed in their assignment as head of the amnesty office was because they did not have a proper understanding of its core mandate.

Omare further stated that anyone who had violated government rule with regards to financial management as it concerns the amnesty programme should be prosecuted.

Also, Niger Delta activists after consultative meeting at the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Okochiri in Okirika Council Area of Rivers State, King Ateke Tom, have expressed disappointment at the handling of the amnesty programme.

In a-three point communiqué after their meeting yesterday, they advised President Buhari to appoint a competent person from Niger Delta to head the amnesty programme, which has witnessed the sack of its two coordinators since 2015.

Timi-Kaizer Ogoriba, who read the statement, said appointing a caretaker committee for the amnesty programme comprising non-indigenes of the Niger Delta region was regrettable and unacceptable to the people of the region, especially those who have been involved in agitations.

“The meeting condemned the appointment of non-Niger Deltans to head the affairs of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. The arrangement is unacceptable and should be reversed immediately with the appointment of a critical stakeholder from the region, who is knowledgeable about Niger Delta affairs,” he added.

They also condemned herdsmen recent invasion of some Niger Delta communities, saying the situation was becoming worrisome and urged the Federal Government to act swiftly before the nation collapses.

He explained the participants in the meeting supported the recent proclamation of South-South governors to create a regional security outfit in the region to secure the lives and property of its peoples.

“We reject the invasion of our lands and communities by migrant herdsmen and as a result, we frown at the killings of people at Uwheru and Abaraka in Delta State, Oben in Edo state and others states of the region.

“We support the position of our governors on the issues of security and we urge them not to relent in their efforts to keep the region safe and secure,” he added.