The Niger Delta Integrity Group (NDIG) has said that certain self-seeking individuals who are lobbying to snatch the top job of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), were responsible for spreading falsehood against the leadership of the Programme.
Convener of NDIG, Dr. Boma Horsfall, in a statement issued to journalists on Monday in Abuja, said the allegations of massive fraud in PAP as reported by some sections of the media were unsubstantiated and were inconsiderately geared towards bringing the image of the Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), to disrepute.
According to Horsfall, there was a criminal conspiracy by PAP beneficiaries, who were delisted because of BVN fraud, to blackmail Major General Ndiomu (rtd) with falsehoods.
“A misleading statement issued by a ‘faceless’ Friday Iko urging anti-graft agencies to investigate the PAP over alleged fraud is a mischievous attempt to smear the PAP leadership and management.
“His assertion that some members of staff in the office are receiving huge amounts for welfare ranging between 15 to 10 million nairas for monthly running cost, is only but a fictitious imagination,” he said.
He further appealed to the federal government to engage the services of credible multinational professional service providers such as Price Water House Coopers International Limited (PWC) and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), to set examinations in order to test some of the persons parading themselves for the PAP job.
“The government will be shocked to see that they will run back into their holes, as they lack the intellectual capacity to head such a sensitive office. It’s shameful that our country has found itself in such a situation that miscreants and illiterates will be aspiring for sensitive public service jobs.
“The pedigree and capacity of Ndiomu, a seasoned retired General, is scarce in the region, hence, the need for positive-minded people to rally around him and give him the much-needed support to reposition the PAP and bring the needed growth to our youths.
“As a group, the NDIG wishes to reiterate that it is the trademark culture and tradition of our people to blackmail each other for selfish reasons and gains,” he stated.
Horsfall, therefore, urged relevant security agencies to go after those spreading falsehood and inciting the public, even as he urged the Interim Administrator of PAP, Major General Ndiomu (rtd), not to be deterred in his noble quest to change the negative narrative of the Amnesty Programme for the benefit of the entire Niger Delta region.
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