National chairman of Phase 2 of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Ibena Rufus Salvation, has warned that there will be no room for fraudsters in the programme.
He advised those parading themselves as fake beneficiaries, especially the so-called Itsekiri graduates of Novena University, to return to their sponsors and contractors who enlisted them illegally.
According to the national chairman, all genuine beneficiaries are fully in support of the programme’s administrator, Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro, in the ongoing reforms aimed at cleaning up the system.
Speaking on the reform process in Yenagoa, Ibena said the era of using fake names and non-beneficiaries to siphon funds from PAP was over, adding that the programme will no longer be a “business as usual” affair.
He said: “The National Chairman and all leaders of Phase 2 are fully in support of Dr. Otuaro. We say no to illegal and fake beneficiaries in the Amnesty Programme. The Administrator has blocked all loopholes that people were using to siphon funds, and this is the right step.”
Ibena also thanked the PAP administrator for living up to his promises by redirecting the programme back to its original beneficiaries who deserved it.
“We want to sincerely thank Chief Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro for implementing his promises and for restoring the programme to the real beneficiaries. This is exactly what the Amnesty was created for, and we are proud of his leadership,” Ibena added.
He further stated that the ongoing reforms have restored hope among genuine ex-agitators who were sidelined in the past due to fraudulent practices.
“This reform process is bringing justice to the genuine beneficiaries. Those who hijacked the system for personal gains have no place in PAP anymore.
“We are fully aware and properly informed that Novena University was one of the institutions used by fake contractors to siphon funds through fake scholarships.
“My advice to all the fake Itsekiri graduates of Novena University is simple, go back to your fake sponsors and contractors. The Amnesty Programme is for real beneficiaries only,” he warned.