Amnesty: Youths, ex-militants differ on Boroh’s achievements

Youths from the nine states of the Niger Delta region have expressed divergent views over the achievements and records of the one-year in office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier-General Paul Boroh (rtd).

While a group at the weekend sent a petition to the Senate President, Senator Olusola Saraki, asking for an open audit of the Amnesty office under the leadership of the retired general, another group of ex-militants lauded Boroh for the proposed training of 500 ex-militants on agro-business.

The aggrieved youths in their petition ‎dated 24th of August 2016, noted that, though the amnesty office made claims of successes and achievements in the area of youth empowerment, there was need for a comprehensive audit of numbers of beneficiaries, as there were claims of contracts awards and diversions of funds to privileged ex-militant leaders in the region.

In the petition issued under the aegis of Niger Delta Youths for Change and Justice and signed by Comrade John Ogbemudia (Edo), Comrade Ughogho Uwvie (Delta) and Comrade Siasia Owei (Bayelsa), the group alleged that amnesty office is characterised by fraud and clandestine sharing of funds meant for beneficiaries of the Amnesty programme.

But ex-militants under the aegis of Third Phase Amnesty Programme, backed the Coordinator for proposed training of 500 ex-agitators in agro-based production in the region. The leader of the Group, General Gift Alex, described the training that would take off at the Bio-diversity Institute in Odi, Bayelsa State, as a step in the right direction, as it would create food security, job and empowerment for the ex-agitators.