The Bayelsa State chapter of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Phase 2, has cautioned some chairmen of the Ex-Agitators Forum of PAP operating from Delta and Edo States to desist from actions that may spark tribal sentiments capable of disrupting the smooth implementation of the programme that is intended to better the lives of youths in the Niger Delta region.
A former chairman of the Ex-agitators Forum, Bayelsa State Chapter, Gen. Ibena Rufus Salvation, gave the warning in Yenagoa while reacting to online publications by one Gen. Israel Akpodoro and others from Isoko, Urhorbo, and Itsekiri in Delta State, where they accused the Interim Administrator of PAP, Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (Rtd), allegedly hijacking N320 million and threatening to shut down the Utorogu Gas Plant.
He noted that the allegations made against the PAP interim administrator were not true and that no ex-agitator, under whatever guise, nomenclature, or auspices, hijacked the sum of N320 million in Bayelsa or any other state of the Niger Delta connected to or related to the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
Gen. Ibena further stated that the Ijaw people, particularly in Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta states, participated and suffered more during the Niger Delta arms struggle, adding that Akpodoro and his cohorts from Delta State were privileged beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme who never participated in the Niger Delta struggle.
He said, “My attention was drawn to a publication by one Israel Akpodoro from Urhorbo in Delta State. It is unfortunate that some of these leaders have forgotten where they came from. People who do not know the history of the Niger Delta struggle. We are not denying the fact that Isoko, Urhorbo, and Itsekiri are not in the Niger Delta. They are; they are our brothers.
“But when it comes to the Niger Delta struggle, everybody in Nigeria, even the world at large, knows that we, the Ijaw people, particularly in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers State, suffered the struggle more. Ijaw people and Ijaw youths participated more during the Niger Delta arms struggle.
“Because we participated more, we suffered more when the attack came from the federal government, where our communities in Ijaw Land, Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers State were destroyed. All these are in history.
“When we were doing all these struggles, only the Ijaw extension in Delta State participated in the Niger Delta struggle; the Urhorbo people were not there. We couldn’t find them; they were not there, and that is the truth.
“Coming to say that the Amnesty Office today is doing ethnic segregation or that they are biased in dealing with office activities is not true. As we all know, the interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Maj. Gen. Tariye Barry Ndiomu is a senior military retiree and now a lawyer who knows the law. He would not want to tamper with any illegal dealings in the office.
“The likes of Israel Akpodoro coming to accuse the office and making all sorts of fake publications is very wrong. Akpodoro should know that he never participated in the Niger Delta struggle. He is just a privileged beneficiary of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme.
“When people were doing the real struggle, he was not there. That is why he cannot be captured in Amnesty Phase 1. Israel Akpodoro, Solomon Adu, and every other Isoko and Urhorbo extract—nobody can tell me any role or activities they participated in during the Niger Delta struggle.
“The entire Delta State, apart from our respected leader, High Chief Tompolo, has no other recognised ex-agitator in Delta State. Even in Phase 1, people like Akpodoro came when they heard that people were dropping arms. They rushed to somewhere else to drop an arm, and you think you are part of the struggle. He is not, and he knows that.
He called on the ex-agitators to stop misinforming the public about the struggle of the Niger Delta, adding that Maj. Gen. Ndiomu is up to date in paying everybody, including Israel Akpodoro, Solomon Adu, and Julius Belemu, what is genuinely due to them.
“For them to go back and think that what belongs to somebody else should be given to them is not done anywhere. Moreover, this matter that we are talking about was challenged in the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, and the judgement is handy. Ndiomu would not have gone outside the law. The public should know that whatever publication they are doing in Delta State, they are just seeking unnecessary recognition.” He noted.
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