Niger Delta Amnesty Programme: Monarchs accuse kinsmen of alleged fraud

• Pass vote of confidence on interim administrator

Traditional rulers, under the aegis of Notable Royal Fathers in Niger Delta Region, yesterday, raised the alarm over an alleged move by a few individuals to fraudulently kill the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

The monarchs alleged these fellows fraudulently collected money with multiple accounts without remitting same to their rightful owners and shift blame to PAP’s Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), who “wants to reposition the agency for a better service delivery”.

The monarchs, therefore, passed a vote of confidence on Gen. Ndiomu (rtd), for his genuine efforts to ensure that the PAP programme is operated transparently to the benefit of all critical stakeholders.

This was contained in a statement, yesterday, signed by King Joseph I. Timiyan, Torobobo I, the Ebenanawei of Ogulagha Kingdom and Chairman, Delta State Ijaw Traditional Rulers Forum; Chairman, Niger Delta Concern Royal Fathers Forum and King Obukowho Monday Whiskey, the paramount king of Great Idjerhe Kingdom (National Secretary).

The royal father said that Ndiomu-led PAP was working hard to correct the mess at the amnesty programme.

The statement read: “We followed with keen interest the ongoing debacle at the PAP, especially an attempt by the interim administrator, Major Ndiomu to reposition the agency for a better service delivery.

“The PAP co-ordinator usually briefs the royal institutions in the region regularly on the agency’s happenings and programmes, and if there are issues that the current writers are not comfortable with, as they claimed, the royal fathers, as peacemakers, still remain the rightful people to be consulted and not resort to self-help of making false allegations and counter allegations to our new president.”

“PAP was set up with a clear mandate to work for the interest of all Niger Deltan ex-agitators and not a few individuals, who have fraudulently been collecting money with multiple accounts without remitting same to their rightful owners.”

While calling on those they claimed were enemies of the region to stop their evil acts, the royal fathers said they “strongly condemned the ongoing sponsored publications and endless petitions against the coordinator for no justifiable reasons, other than the petitioners wanting the amnesty boss to do their evil biddings of one man collecting salaries for several hundreds of people without paying same to their supposed owners.”