Niger Delta ex-militants have lamented alleged corrupt practices in the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) since the inception of the scheme.
The ex-militants appealed to leaders from the region especially the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to seek measures of ending sleaze in the scheme to actualise its objectives.
The ex-militants under the auspices of Ex-Agitators Youth Development Combined (EAYDC) said since its inception, the amnesty programme had been hijacked by non-agitators, who mismanaged resources leaving only crumbs for the real ex-militants.
Members of EAYDC, who were drawn from the three phases, insisted that the injustice in the amnesty programme must be addressed, describing the amnesty office as one of the most corrupt interventionist agencies in the country.
The group in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, General Tonye Bobo popularly called Sir T. said the original code prescribed by the United Nations to guide interventionist agencies had been abandoned by the amnesty office.
Bobo said non-training of delegates was one of the reasons why the amnesty programme was lagging behind.
He said: “One of the primary aims of the Amnesty Programme has been defeated, which of course, is the re-integration phase, which has not been fulfilled. This is the cause of the perennial agitations in the region”.
The group’s national coordinator called on Akpabio to drive the development of the region the way he transformed Akwa Ibom State as governor.
