The Ijaw Youths Network (IYN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to ignore calls by stakeholders to scrap the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The IYN said that those calling for the scrapping of PAP are uncomfortable with the story of peace and stability in the region, and are clearly not motivated by patriotism and genuine concern for the Niger Delta and Nigeria.
The group, in a statement signed by its President, Frank Ebikabo, and the Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor, said that the call, being championed by ethnic chauvinists, was designed to distract the new leadership of PAP, adding that it does not deserve attention from serious minds.
IYN was responding to comments made by one Frank Tietie, who claimed, on national television, that there was corruption in the PAP, and that the agency had not achieved anything in spite of the money spent on it by the Federal Government.
The group condemned the claim by Tietie that only one ethnic group was laying claim to the PAP, stressing that what the Niger Delta needs at this time is not the promotion of divisive ethnic sentiments and the use of the same to attack a functional agency, which is making impacts in the region.
According to the IYN, the PAP has contributed immensely to the sustenance of prevailing peace in the oil-rich Niger Delta through its well thought-out programmes.
