The Izon Cultural Heritage Centre (ICHC) and the sole representative of the Itsekiris in the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Shola Mese, have disagreed over the Programme’s scope, mandate and beneficiaries.
While Dr. Mese, a security consultant, is of the view that Ijaws have been favoured in the Programme’s selection process above their Itsekiris neighbours, the ICHC led by Apostle Bodmas Kemepadei believed that the PAP belongs to the entire people of Niger Delta region.
Also, Mese criticised the Administrator of PAP, Dr Dennis Otuaro, over allocation of amnesty slots, scholarships and reintegration initiatives, while ICHC reiterated its full confidence in Dr. Otuaro’s leadership of PAP.
In his submission, Dr. Mese urged the PAP Administrator to avoid divisive tendencies and ensure fairness. But, ICHC said Otuaro, since assuming office, has worked diligently with inclusivity and commitment to the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The ICHC, in a statement, also condemned the remarks by Dr. Mese, whom it accused of attempting to mislead the public by suggesting that the PAP under Dr Otuaro was skewed against the Itsekiris.
According to the body; “Such claims are not only false but are calculated to stir unnecessary ethnic tension.
“While Dr. Mese claims to have been involved in the disarmament phase years ago, that era is over.
“PAP is now in its reintegration phase, which operates strictly on the basis of the existing list of beneficiaries- Itsekiris, Ijaws, Urhobos, Isokos, and others alike without room for ethnic favoritism, blackmail or political manipulation.
“We remind Dr Mese that his purported appointment as sole representative of the Itsekiris to the PAP Office is not tenable because there is no such thing as ethnic liaisons in the Presidential Amnesty Programme Office.
“Also such nonexistent position doesn’t confer pretence of authority to dictate programme policy or undermine the Administrator.
“The PAP is a Niger Delta-wide peace instrument, not an ethnic bargaining chip for palace politics.”
“Importantly, the era of disarmament under the PAP has long passed, and all ethnic nationality, must acknowledge this fact. The current phase is reintegration for already documented beneficiaries, not an avenue to reopen old disarmament claims or alter established beneficiary lists,” ICHC added.
