We Will Follow Due Process To Wind Down Amnesty Programme – Ndiomu

Interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Maj. Gen. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), has said that the Niger Delta Amnesty programme will not be halted abruptly as being speculated in some quarters.

He also hinted at plans to embark on strategic advocacy to seek the buy-in and support of critical stakeholders, as well as the ex-agitators.

Gen. Ndiomu disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Umanah Umanah in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.

He added that his dream is to create an alternative and more sustainable agency that will cater to the specific needs of the people, especially the impacted communities in the Niger Delta.

In a press statement issued by his special adviser, Thomas Ndanusa Peretu, Gen. Ndiomu stated that his mandate is to wind down the amnesty programme in tandem with international best practices.

According to him, the Niger Delta Amnesty programme was supposed to have been scrapped in 2015, but the government in its wisdom felt the need to extend its lifespan to embrace more ex-agitators, explaining that “this does not mean the programme should remain in perpetuity.”

The administrator recalled that the Presidential Amnesty Programme which was initially designed to last for five years is now 13 years old, which is over and above the initial 5-year threshold.

He stressed that programmes such as the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme were usually established as a stop-gap programme for a given period and not meant to last forever.