PAP: Agitation for Ndiomu’s Sack Thickens as Group Vows to Protest in Abuja

Sylvester Idowu in Warri 

Agitation for the replacement of the Interim Administrator of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (Rtd) has thickened following threat by some stakeholders, under the auspices of Niger Delta Emancipators, to carry out massive protest against what they described as his “unbridled inefficiency”. 

The aggrieved stakeholders, in a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday and personally signed and issued by the President of the Niger Delta Emancipatory,  Opuwei Ogelekekeme, said they would go naked during the protests slated for Abuja for the removal of Ndiomu.

He declared that “the group and other critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta region will storm Abuja soon to protest. Our people will go naked for Ndiomu. Enough is enough”. 

The group insisted that President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, should remove Ndiomu for a more capable hand in the region who understands the struggle to come in for peace to reign.

“The drums of protest will continue to echo as concerns rise over Major-General Barry Ndiomu’s (Rtd) inefficiency in reintegrating ex-agitators and freedom fighters into society and in the smooth operation of the Presidential amnesty program. 

“The prevailing peace in the Niger Delta, juxtaposed against the conflict-ridden Southeast and Northeast regions, appears threatened by complaints not only of corruption but also of Major Ndiomu’s oversight of the amnesty programme’s fundamental goals”, he said. 

Ogelekekeme drew recent attention to the growing discontent, potentially leading some key figures in the Niger Delta to join the protest drums.

“Lately, hundreds of ex-agitators enrolled in the second phase of the amnesty program convened in the Bomadi area to devise a strategy, contemplating two options: one, to advocate for an overhaul of the presidential amnesty program by removing Major-General Ndiomu, whom they accused of following the path set by the past administration in terminating the program; or two, to return to their creeks where they belong”, he said. 

Operating under the umbrella of the ‘Second Phase General, the group had issued a 21-day ultimatum for Major-General Ndiomu to step down or face the discontent of those who have borne the brunt of ensuring peace, tranquility, and development in the region.

In his statement issued by Hon. Kingsley Warekuromor, Speaker of the Ijaw Mobile Parliament, highlighted that if Major-General Ndiomu is indeed following the past administration’s approach to ending the Presidential Amnesty program, it indicates a lack of goodwill toward President Tinubu, potentially inciting unrest in the region.

Similarly, Ezonfade Otus-Kelly, an Ijaw Youth Council Leader from Seimbiiri clan in Delta State, Western Zone reiterated the importance of reintegrating the ex-agitators. 

He alleged that instead of utilizing the allocated funds for this purpose, Major-General Ndiomu was redirecting the resources towards lobbying for a tenure extension after the expiration of his acting tenure.

“The ex-agitators have pledged to lead a protest, expressing their dissent by promising to dance naked in the streets of Abuja after the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum for Ndiomu to resign.

“Their intent is to shed light on what they perceive as a fraudulent Presidential amnesty program under Ndiomu. They plan to perform traditional “ogele” war songs without inhibition, as they feel Major-General Ndiomu has metaphorically stripped them bare”, he added.

Tabai England and Timibrabo Tevin of the Ijaw Patriotic Group, after assessing the ex-agitators’ assembly, urged the President to take necessary actions by appointing a qualified leader for the Presidential Amnesty program, aiming to rejuvenate and revamp the initiative.

They expressed that Ndiomu not only failed to comprehend the genuine grievances of the agitators but has also become disconnected from the reality of effectively managing the programme.