Niger Delta youths counsel new amnesty programme coordinator

By Emma Amaize

THE 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience, 21st CYNDAC, weekend called on the new Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Colonel Miland Dikio (retd.) to learn from the pitfalls of his predecessors, who failed because of greed.

Leader of the group, self-styled “General” Izon Ebi, in a statement, said: “We want to advise the new coordinator not to allow himself to be used by the federal government against his people and the Niger Delta region.

He should be able to learn from the pitfalls of his predecessors, who had large and heavy curriculum vitae, but failed woefully in the dispensation of their duties.”

“They neither sincerely cared nor showed commitment to ameliorate the plight of the people of the Niger Delta, thinking they are only accountable to the federal government; they saw their appointment as an avenue to play politics with the development of the Niger Delta,and to further allow the federal government to drill the oil and exploit us with impunity.

“We, therefore, call on the new coordinator to consult with critical stakeholders and leaders of the Niger Delta in order not to make same mistakes as his predecessors.

He should take into cognizance the fact that he is from the Niger Delta and has loved ones, women and children that are feeling the excruciating pain of the activities of the oil multinationals and the federal government against the people of the Niger Delta.

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“We want to let him know that Niger Delta youths sacrificed their lives, innocent people were killed, communities were razed down, our dignity was trampled upon, but for the efforts of fearless and brave Ijaw youths to fight against injustice with the last drop of their blood, which led to the late President Umaru Musa Yaradua reaching out to leaders of the Niger Delta to persuade agitators to lay down their arms to accept the offer of Presidential Amnesty.

“The amnesty program is a well thought out developmental program of the then administration of President Umaru Musa Yaradua with different segments. The program is phased into three segments – disarmament, demobilization and reintegration for the first segment, rehabilitation for the second segment, and Strategic Implementation Work Plan, SIWP, for the third segment.

“We all know that the first segment has been fully carried out and that is what led to this fragile peace and the free flow of oil that contributes 90 percent of our GDP.

“However, we are still in the second segment, which is the rehabilitation process. Engaging the youths in vocational training or sending them to school, as well as rehabilitation programs are all part of the process, which is being politicized by our so-called greedy and selfish persons appointed to head the program in this current Buhari administration that failed to realize that they are from the Niger Delta.

“However, the third phase has not been attended to, which is strictly the massive development of the Niger Delta region that led to the late President Umaru Musa Yaradua creating the Niger Delta Ministry to oversee and compliment the effort of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC to successfully carry out the third segment which is the SIWP,” the group asserted.

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