Ndiomu Seeks EU Collaboration on Amnesty Programme

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Interim Administrator Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) yesterday visited the European Union (EU) office in Abuja, as part of the efforts to reposition the amnesty programme and improve the lives of ex-agitators in the Niger Delta Region.

At the strategic meeting, he solicited institutional and technical support from the EU, especially in the PAP’s proposed Cooperative Scheme that is set to commence.

The interim administrator highlighted how the cooperative would create sustainable livelihoods for youths in the Niger Delta and make them more self-reliant, noting the persistent problem since the laying down of arms which is how to meaningfully engage the ex-agitators, is the cardinal focus of his administration.

He informed the EU that the figure of existing beneficiaries was reviewed upwards to cover indigenes of impacted communities, adding that over five vocational training centres have been established across the Niger Delta Region, with some at various completion stages of completion.

He said the cooperative scheme, once fully operational, would discourage ex-agitators from continuously depending on the monthly N65,000 stipends, and look to more sustainable ways of living.

Ndiomu regretted that successive leaderships in the region appear to have applied short-term measures in their approach to tackling the problem of youth restiveness.

Responding, Agnieszka Torres De Oliveira, Politics, Press and Information Officer of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, acknowledged that the initiatives of the PAP fall in line with the pillars of the EU, which include security, peace-building and human development.

The EU further commended the Ndiomu led amnesty programme for, “seeing through the weaknesses” of the PAP and coming up with innovative measures to address them.

It expressed commitment to engage and provide more accessible avenues that will enable the PAP to achieve its objectives.

The Interim Administrator of the PAP was accompanied by retired Supreme Court Justice, HRM Francis Tabai, the Ebenanaowei of Tuomo Kingdom in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, and other senior Officials of the PAP.