Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region have condemned the alleged involvement of the former militant leader, Chief Ebikabowei Victor-Ben also known as General Boyloaf, in financial wrongdoings levelled against the interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) by an online tabloid.
The stakeholders, made up of elders of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), traditional rulers, youth and women groups across the Niger Delta region, described the report as a selective witch-hunt, a sponsored personal attack and a deliberate plan to cause disaffection and security breach in the region.
The online news media had last Wednesday claimed that the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta was among government MDAs that have violated the financial transparency laws by authorising the payment of huge sums of public funds into private accounts.
In a joint press statement issued in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, and signed by Chief Bubaraye Daniels, he stated that, “the allegedly sponsored Premium Times report is misguided, misleading, and a personal attack against Boyloaf by disgruntled and failed politicians who blame him for their election losses, or do they think that the security agencies are not fully aware of these payments?”
According to Daniels, despite the fact that the report of the online tabloid is incorrect, Boyloaf is known to his followers and millions of people across the region as a credible, upright former warlord, a formidable war-machine and disciplinarian, who in recent years have risen to the role of a great statesman, a peace and conflict resolution strategist and advocate.
He said, “The online tabloid has turned into a gossip and blackmailing medium, and has done great disservice to its reputation as their mischief became obvious by their decision to single out Chief Victor-Ben without listing other prominent former militant leaders that received larger amounts, and paid in like manner by the PAP office for onward payments to thousands of delegates and beneficiaries in their various camps across the six states in the Niger Delta region.”
Daniels also noted that, the amount quoted by the online tabloid is not only small, but insulting, and belittling, given the thousands of lives lost, and the monumental contributions made by these former militant leaders in achieving sustainable peace across the region that enabled the federal government and multinational oil and gas companies to explore, extract, and export crude oil and gas products from the Niger Delta region.
“Let it be known that Boyloaf is not a civil servant nor a career politician. He is a statesman of high repute and beloved by his people. Boyloaf was not only a co-founder, but he was extremely instrumental for the successful establishment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and has continued to fulfil his obligations under the agreement reached with the Federal Government since 2009 to ensure sustained peace and stability in the region. Hardly can you find anyone across the region that understands the workings of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) better than Boyloaf.
“He has not only maintained the peace accord reached with the federal government but has transformed himself and thousands of his followers in ways unimaginable, both educationally and politically, and contributes immensely to the political and socio-economic growth and development in the region and the country at large.
“Since the inception of the PAP, never has anyone heard that delegates from Boyloaf’s camp were protesting against the non-payment of their monthly stipends.
