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Ex-militant leaders decry delisting of 3,548 amnesty beneficiaries from pay

By Julius Osahon (Yenagoa) and Obinna Nwaoku (Port Harcourt)
31 October 2022   |   4:00 am
Former militant leaders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have planned another fresh hostilities in the oil-rich region over alleged delisting of 3,548 beneficiaries by the amnesty office.

Ndiomu

• Urge immediate reinstatement
• PAP warns blackmailers to steer clear of Ndiomu

Former militant leaders and stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have planned another fresh hostilities in the oil-rich region over alleged delisting of 3,548 beneficiaries by the amnesty office.

They said it was in a bid to terminate the programme by the December 31, 2022 deadline.

They, therefore, warned and urged the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Maj.-Gen. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), to reinstate those affected.

In a statement via electronic mail and signed by former militant leader, ‘General’ Boma Inewariku (a.k.a. Atangba-One), they alleged that those delisted from the programme without due consultation with the stakeholders include single slots: 2954, Bulk: 594.

Inewariku said: “There are many federal intervention programmes with budgets of billions of naira across the North and no one hears about them, or even thinks of shutting them down.”

MEANWHILE, the PAP has warned a syndicate of blackmailers to steer clear of Ndiomu.

PAP’s Media Consultant, Donu Kogbara, raised the alarm that detractors, in their desperate plan to tarnish the image of Ndiomu, had recruited blackmailers to carry out a campaign of calumny against the interim administrator.

Kogbara, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, said the blackmailers had churned out series of unsubstantiated and false reports against Ndiomu to damage his image and pitch him against key stakeholders of PAP.

She said the first of their vicious attacks was recycled libelous reports claiming that Ndiomu was demanding kickbacks from a suspected dubious PAP contractor.

The PAP media consultant, while describing the allegation as puerile, ridiculous and false, insisted that there was no iota of truth in the report.

The statement stated: “Our attention has been drawn to libelous reports targeting Maj.-Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), the Interim Administrator (IA) of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

“Some unnamed former militant leaders from the nine states of the Niger Delta region reportedly accused Ndiomu of corruption in a ridiculous petition that they addressed to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd).

“The allegations revolve around 15 companies owned by a vendor, who was awarded several contracts by a previous coordinator of the programme and is currently engaged in a performance-related legal dispute with PAP. The matter is subjudice.

“The matter was in court even before Ndiomu was appointed the interim administrator and it beats the imagination of everyone how the sponsors of these vicious reports tried to link Ndiomu to such matter.”

Kogbara said similar reports attempting to discredit Ndiomu and distract him from focusing on his new mandate for PAP would be sponsored and bankrolled by enemies, who see the interim administrator as an obstacle to their intended corrupt engagements with PAP.

She said: “We are aware that some corrupt elements don’t want any change and transformation in PAP. They want the programme to remain business as usual and having seen that Ndiomu was appointed with high recommendations based on his track records of service and performance to bring the required transformation of PAP, they started early to discredit him.

“We are calling on members of the public to be wary of such reports and disregard the falsehood being peddled against the interim administrator, who assumed office with uncommon determination and commitment to do the right things for PAP in line with the agenda to promote growth and development of the Niger Delta.”

Kogbara said Ndiomu’s appointment was based on his incorruptible character, integrity and discipline shaped by his military background, adding that forthrightness propelled him to rise to the pinnacle of his career in the Nigerian Army.

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