Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
Ex-agitators from Akwa Ibom State have lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for sustaining the funding of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
They observed that the President’s funding of the programme despite the current economic challenges, had largely contributed to the sustained peace in the region.
The ex-agitators, however, appealed to the President to confirm Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), as the substantive head of the PAP.
They said since his appointment, Dikio had displayed commitment and the highest level of capacity to their admiration and that of all stakeholders.
The former warlords in a statement on Thursday signed by the State Chairman, Ex- Agitators Forum in Akwa Ibom, Amb. Alban Paulinus after a stakeholders and leadership strategic meeting and circulated in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, described Dikio as a round peg in a round hole.
The statement said: “The entire ex-agitators in Akwa-Ibom will agree and acknowledge the fact that from the inception of the programme, this is the first time the ex-agitators in the state have been given full attention. We have never had it this good with PAP.
“Dikio, in his quest to redirect and reposition the region through PAP has engaged the ex-agitators in an effective and strategic communication model in order to bridge the gap between the real owners of the programme and the offic.
“He has enhanced the Presidential Amnesty Liaison Offices in various parts of the region, like Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta states to be more effective.
“Furthermore, non-payment and delay of the ex-agitators’ monthly stipends are now a thing of the past, due to the new improved payment structure.
“In the light of the above, we the ex-agitators of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in Akwa Ibom State join other stakeholders in the region to voice out that, what is good is good and to whom little is entrusted with, more can be entrusted”.
The ex-agitators said a more sustainable method had been initiated by the administration of Dikio to curb social vices that had contributed to the under-development of the Niger Delta region.
They said: “We applaud his approach to transform and transmit a more youth and women inclusive programme in the Niger Delta under the new Niger Delta Stability Programme. It will form a new phase in achieving the exit plan of the amnesty programme, sustaining the peace and development of the region and bringing in new investors.
“We call on all stakeholders in the region, governors, House of Representatives, Senators and Mr. President to look in this direction and leave a legacy with their names written in gold.
“We appeal to Mr. President as a father who has shown so much love to Niger Delta people, to please use his good office to confirm Dikio as substantive head to enable him run the programme more effectively in achieving a sustainable goal”.
