Amgbare Ekaunkumo,Yenagoa
A group, the Reintegrated Ex-Militant Forum (REF) has slammed some youths from the Niger Delta region over the recent threat to shut down critical oil Infrastructures and installations in the Niger Delta region over allege non-inclusion in the ongoing Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), urging the Federal Government to treat those behind the threat as dissidents against the existing peace in the region.
According to REF, though every Niger Delta youth have the right to feel aggrieved in view of the unresolved challenges against the region, however, it does not justify the self-acclaimed Phase 3 beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) issuing threats against the nation’s critical infrastructure, calling it mischievous, criminal and a deliberate attempts to allow political machinations against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The REF warned the self-acclaimed Phase 3 beneficiaries to desist from issuing threats against the nation’s infrastructures and the PAP, instead, they should conform themselves to the principles of the PAP, otherwise they will be delisted from the PAP. The REF stated that the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) under the leadership of Col. Miland Dixon Dikio (rtd.) has repositioned the PAP towards achieving its core mandate, and that Col. Dikio’s administration has made more efforts to address grievances from ex-agitators across the region more than any other PAP administration under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The REF’s warning came as a result of some youths, who claimed to be Phase 3 beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) who had on Wednesday 28th July 2022 handed a Protest notice to Colonel Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd.) and other relevant agencies of the Federal Government to shut down critical oil Infrastructures and installations in the Niger Delta region if what they called their legitimate demands are not looked into within the time band of August 10th 2022. According to the aggrieved youths, they have not been included in the Amnesty Programme since its inception.
But the Group, the Reintegrated Ex-Militant Forum (REF), in a statement issued and signed by its National Coordinator, Former Creek General, Tony Ebikaliade, argued that the security agencies while responding to the threats of the agitated “Phase 3” should separate the allege sponsored group from genuine Niger Delta youths who have embraced the various channels of communications initiated for resolution of conflict between youths and the Presidential Amnesty Office led by Colonel Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd.).
According to REF, “We are not surprised at the actions of the agitated youths hiding under the banner of Phase 3 agitators. The time for political jobs have come and these dissidents have offered themselves to be used as the destabilizer of the existing peace in the region. Though, we admit that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration have not been fair to the region in terms of the immediate set up of the Board of the NDDC, the completion of the East-West road and few others, the threat by a few sponsored youths to the nation through the Presidential Amnesty office is wrong, misplaced and criminal.”
“The Colonel Miland Dixon Dikio (rtd.) led Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) should not be the avenue to be used by the so-called Phase 3 youths to destabilize the region. Col. Dikio (rtd.) has been the only Amnesty coordinator that has refused to stay in Abuja and administer the office. He decentralized the Amnesty office by conducting town hall styled interactions with Amnesty beneficiaries without segregation. He conducted a balanced audit of the Amnesty programme and stopped issues of delay in payment of Amnesty stipends, protest or violence by beneficiaries.”
“Col. Dikio’s management and administration of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has shown a high level of Midas touch that has changed over a decade negative narratives of the intervention agency. We are relieved as frequent agitations that marred previous PAP Coordinators due to their poor performances has subsided. If these people issuing threats are genuine, they would have noticed the structural changes in place in the running of the PAP, and how beneficiaries stipends are paid regularly, new training and the retraining of beneficiaries in order to build capacity among ex-militants have been unfettered.”
“Col. Dikio has no preference for any tribe or group of persons in the region. The interim administrator has been treating all persons in an equitable manner aimed at bequeathing a legacy of peace and harmony in the region.” He halted the shamefully monetized scholarship programmes by previous administrations, toeing the line of rapid development and human growth in the region. We want to distance ourselves and the genuine Amnesty beneficiaries from the illegally planned shutdown of critical oil infrastructure in the region. We are aware that despite the poor timing of such threats, this may be another hatchet job being coordinated by political interest to ignite protest, violence and unrest in the Niger Delta region.”
