Ex-agitators Seek Probe Of Former Amnesty Officials Over Scholarships

Following controversies trailing 1,714 local and foreign scholarships awarded by the immediate past interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col Milland Dikio (rtd), some aggrieved ex-agitators have given a two-week ultimatum to publish the document containing the names of the scholarship beneficiaries and the probe of the former officials.

According to the agitators, they will embark on a peaceful protest to demand for their rights if the new management did not act fast.

Speaking with newsmen, the president, Ijaw Defenders Mandate (IDM), Comr John Gbozimor, alleged that some aides of the immediate past interim administrator of PAP had shortchanged the names of the ex-agitators with other persons that were not part of the programme, insisting that PAP must publish the names of the 1,714 beneficiaries in the 2021/2022 PAP scholarship in national dailies to ascertain how many ex-agitators made the bogus list containing names of every dick and harry.

The group also called on the new interim administrator of PAP, Maj. Gen. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) to immediately set up an audit panel to investigate the process that culminated in the 1,714 scholarship awards to determine the exact number of ex-agitators that benefitted from the scholarships awarded by Col. Dikio, reiterating that some aides of Col. Dikio had shortchanged the ex-agitators in scholarship scheme which according to IDM, was hurriedly put together by the aides for their selfish interests.

On its part, the Ijaw Integrity Movement (IIM) in a recent statement credited to one Brakumo Thomas had castigated the new interim administrator of PAP, Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd) over comments on the PAP scholarship racketeering, claiming that PAP’s scholarships were not sold to non-Niger Deltans. The group had accused Gen. Ndiomu of trying to cast aspersion on the immediate past interim administrator, Col Dikio (rtd) whom they had linked the award of 1,000 scholarships to, as against the actual figure of 1,714 beneficiaries.