The attention of the Niger Delta Integrity Group (NDIG), has been drawn to a malicious report that emanated from a group of redundant elements in the Niger Delta region with the intent to spite the NDIG.
We wish to state categorically that the report calling for the sack of Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) which was mischievously drafted over the weekend, did not emanate from the NDIG. As its name connotes, the NDIG is strongly guided by the principles of Integrity, and as such, would not relegate itself to a cheap campaign of calumny against a man who is destined to change the narratives of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The NDIG holds the PAP Interim Administrator in very high esteem, given his capacity and track records. It is pitiable that such characters who are calling for the sack of a man who uderstands transformation, are only exhibiting their myopic state of mind in public.
While the youths of other regions like the Southwest and Southeast have moved forward, are involved in more productive ventures, and are embracing technology innovations, the youths in the Niger Delta region have chosen to remain comfortable with the title of ‘ex-agitators’ and collecting stipends of N65,000, which has further promoted the culture of laziness
The sponsors and purveyors of this fake news who have made the Niger Delta region a laughing stock across the country, must now bury their heads in shame. They are shamelessly destroying the culture of hardwork and contentment which is attributed to the Ijaw man.
The NDIG urges the peddlers of this falsehood to find more sustainable means of livelihood, and desist from fighting others for their selfish benefit. They should emulate youths in the Niger Delta region who never carried guns, and are doing meaningful businesses and engaging in productive ventures.
Our heart bleeds because our people always settle for peanuts. It is sad that since the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Presidential Amnesty Programme, no one from the Ijaw extraction has been made a millionaire from all these agitations, while we always fight for others to benefit.
While we urge Gen. Ndiomu to forge ahead with his reforms for the PAP, he must bear in mind that people will always resist real change (especially our people), thus, he must remain firm and focused on the task ahead.
In conclusion, we caution the faceless group to desist from using the name of the NDIG to spread fake news. If this continues, we will not hesitate to fish them and their sponsors out, and subsequently petition them to the relevant security agencies.
Dr. Boma Horsfall,
Convener, NDIG.
27 November 2022.
