Prominent former leaders of militant groups in the Niger Delta region have described as laughable and mischievous, renewed calls for the removal of Maj-Gen Barry Ndiomu (retd), the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The ex-militant leaders under the aegis of Refined Niger Delta Former Warlords in a statement on Tuesday, dismissed the allegations of misappropriation of funds levelled against Ndiomu by faceless groups operating under a pseudonym coalition.
In the statement signed by its Spokesman, ‘General’ Goodboy Enewari, the group noted that the faceless coalition and their sponsors are soaked in complete ignorance, and are driven by a self-serving, naive and sponsored determination to spread falsehood against Ndiomu whose stead at the PAP is appointment-based, and is subject to renewal by President Bola Tinubu in his wisdom.
While dismissing claims of misappropriation and tenure expiration of Ndiomu, the former warlords reiterated that since his appointment, Ndiomu has maintained a high level of prudence, accountability and probity. This, they said, forms part of the reasons why the PAP under the General could muster the courage to float the laudable Cooperative Scheme to empower ex-agitators.
They maintained that with his experience and track records of public performance, the PAP boss will continue to improve on the Programme for the benefit of all ex-agitators and stakeholders despite the malicious agenda against his administration.
The ex-agitators thus called on people of the Niger Delta region to ignore calls for his removal, insisting that only those who want the Niger Delta to remain stagnant are against Ndiomu, but will not succeed “because the collective interest of our region is what he is pursuing”.
The group strongly affirmed that General Ndiomu is popularly accepted and supported across the Niger Delta region by “known” ex-agitators, traditional rulers and other critical stakeholders of the region, all of whom have endorsed his innovative efforts to revamp the Amnesty Programme to achieve its mandate.
