Pauline Onyibe 
The Strategic Communications Committee (SCC) of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) on Monday said that the Interim Administrator of the scheme, Maj.-Gen. Barry Ndiomu (retd) was too busy to engage in politics, adding that the presidential amnesty office is not a political office.
The Committee, therefore, appealed to the Interim Administrator not to be distracted by the antics of the enemies of the Niger Delta.
Recall that there have been allegations and counter-allegations against the interim administrator that he has been supporting the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State.
The Chairman of SCC, Nature Dumale, in a statement, urged Ndiomu to remain courageous and weather all the storms so that he can actualise his laudable projects and programmes for ex-agitators and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta.
The statement was endorsed by other members of the committee and leaders of ex-agitators such as Fayeofori Ngiangia, Tonye Bobo, Adokiya Dasimaka Adokiye, BB Foloki, Selepere Kalabiri and Ellington, Ekufebakumo Victor Clifford Reuben.
Dumale condemned the continuous pull-down syndrome in the Niger Delta and appealed to some aggrieved individuals to support Ndiomu and his plans in the region.
He said the decision of the amnesty boss to establish cooperatives and make loans available to beneficiaries was an indication of his desire to create many entrepreneurs and address the unemployment in the region.
Describing the cooperatives as Ndiomu’s flagship project, the SCC members admonished all stakeholders to support the initiative in the interest of socioeconomic growth and development of the region.
The strategic communication committee members further condemned the recent attempts to drag Ndiomu and the Amnesty Office into politics, saying the interim administrator understood perfectly the functions of his office and was too busy to dabble in politics.
The statement read, “We want to state categorically that the presidential amnesty office is not a political office. It is a security office. In fact, the Ndiomu we know perfectly understands the functions of his office and has been discharging them diligently. The amnesty boss is too busy to engage in politics”.
“People will always fight you when you are doing the right things. Nobody will fight you if you are not doing the right thing. Please, sir, keep your head up. Remember the Eagle Award we gave to you. An eagle soars above challenges.
“Understand that you will not always have the support of everyone. Don’t expect everyone to believe in you. But most of us, who believe in you, should make you stand strong and be courageous”.
“You have initiated a flagship programme, the cooperative project. It will help young people to be independent and enable them to have their businesses and work hard to be successful.
“The Board of Trustee’s Chairman of this cooperative, Justice Tabai (retd) is one person with a track record in this region. He is someone that won’t want to identify with failure. For the Interim Administrator to bring such people to the cooperative shows that he wants the cooperative to succeed and achieve its aim.
“We need to rally around him to make sure that he succeeds. We cannot continue to pull ourselves down as a people. It is becoming like a syndrome. Everybody will not be a leader at the same time. It is one at a time”.
