Ex-Niger Delta Militants protest in Abuja over non-payment of emoluments for six months

A coalition of ex-Niger Delta Militants on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest in Abuja against non-payment of their emoluments by the Interim Administration of the Presidential Amnesty Programme headed by Maj-Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu. (Rtd)

The ex-agitators who stormed the National Assembly with various placards among other issues alleged that over 7,000 of them had stopped receiving their N65,000 monthly payment since the appointment of the interim Administrator six months ago.

The protesters from Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo and Edo States said Ndiomu arbitrarily stopped their payment.

They said the peaceful protest was to register their displeasure and urge the leadership of the National Assembly to resolve the matter.

A notice of the protest conveying their grievances and made available to reporters at the allegations that the new Interim Administrator had been insensitive to their needs.

The notice addressed to the Inspector General of Police and signed by the Chairman Phase 2, Bayelsa State, Paul Johnson, and two others read, “We abide by the law as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria upon our disarmament and acceptance to embrace the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“Right from the inception of the program, we are duty bound ‘to play by the rule of the presidential Amnesty program to be non-violence, and on the other end; emoluments, incentives and benefits were to be given us. part of which includes; training, both academic and non-academic, and the monthly N65,000.00 stipends.

“Sir, for the past six months, over 7,000 delegates have stopped receiving the N65,000.00. This is a result of the appointment of Maj-Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu as the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“Right from his inception as the Interim Administrator, going over to six months now, many of our Ex-agitators have suffered this insensitive behaviour from Ndiomu. He has been tagging us negatively in the eyes of the public, using our monies to bribe some stakeholders in the Niger Delta to play his card, putting in the front burner the issue of “BVN LINKAGE” to further use our monies as he wants

“The peaceful protest becomes necessary for the public to be aware of our plight to drive home our grievances.

“As law-abiding citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we have to duly inform you, the security agent, of our planned peaceful protest. We promise to be peaceful and civil, we will never take laws into our hands.

“All we want is our N65,000.00 monthly stipends and Ndiomu should be relieved of his duty as the Interim Administrator of the presidential Amnesty program.”

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