Chairman of Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers and paramount ruler of Ekpetiama Kingdom, Bubaraye Dakolo, and the Vice President of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Chief Nengi James Eriworio, have kicked against reported plan by Federal Government to scrap Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
They agreed that PAP has contributed to the unity of Nigeria, sustained peace in the Niger Delta region with increased volumes of oil and gas production, and assisted the Federal Government in generating revenue of over $300 billion from sales of oil and gas products within12 years.
While Dakolo commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment of the new Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (retd), he noted PAP should be sustained to train and empower more youths of the region.
Similarly, Eriworio, who is also the Bayelsa State Chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), said: “Despite the challenges of control and misapplication of priorities in terms of training and funding, PAP should be sustained because it assists thousands of families and youths across the Niger Delta region, which produces majority of the natural resources that have continually sustained the country, and that the region remains the major source of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
“PAP has also assisted in areas of manpower development, entrepreneurial skills among the Niger Delta youths, and in sustaining the peace for oil and gas expatriates to operate freely across the region.”
Dakolo and Eriworio, in separate interviews with our correspondent in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, stated that attempt to scrap the programme might renew agitation and hostilities in the region.
Dakolo said: “While thanking President Buhari for the appointment of our capable son into the programme at this point in history, we want to ask that PAP be sustained, so that teeming youths in the region, who are still suffering from one form of displacement or unemployment, are properly trained and empowered for the future of the region.”