Amnesty Programme: Ijaw youths express displeasure of programme

A group called Integrity Youth Association of Ijaw Kingdom in Ondo and Bayelsa states, on Thursday, raised the alarm over alleged plan to reduce number of ex-militants benefiting from the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The group alleged that since Brig. Gen. Paul Borth was appointed as the co-ordinator for the programme, he had only been paying selected beneficiaries the monthly stipend.

A statement signed by Akinyemi Iroju and made available to reporters in Akure, Ondo State capital, ‎ also accused the immediate past coordinator of the programme, Kingsley Kuku, of failure to make proper documentation of the beneficiaries before leaving office.

It noted that its members numbering about 1,000 received the May and June allowances but were shocked when they were not alerted by their banks of July, August and September allowances.

The group confirmed that other ex-militants benefiting from ‎the scheme had been paid for the three months.

The group said a protest letter had already been written to Borth but yet to see any positive response ‎from the government.

The statement said: “We like to make it known to the whole world that there is going to be total uprising again in the Niger-Delta region if the thousands of people benefiting from the scheme are not paid.

“So many people fought the Ijaw struggle on the intellectual front while so many others were also enlisted into the Presidential Amnesty Programme because they are from the affected areas.

“We deem it fit to say that we expect the present coordinator of the Amnesty programme to carry out proper documentation instead of wanting to throw people into the already congested labour market and further make youths go back to acts of criminality.”