PAP: Ndiomu accuses people peddling lies against him of frustrating reforms for ex-agitators

The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (retd), has said those peddling lies and sponsoring frivolous petitions against his administration are frustrating the reforms and changes he had brought on board.

He made the revelation during the weekend at a meeting with Niger Delta Traditional Rulers, held in Warri, Delta State, with the theme: ‘Peace and Security in the Region.’

Ndiomu told the monarchs who were led by HRM, King Joseph Timiyan, the Paramount Ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom, that if he had maintained the status quo and allowed the “irregularities” discovered in capturing beneficiaries of the Programme to continue, he would have failed from the outset.

The statement read partly, “It is difficult to bring about change when people are used to certain ways that bring them benefits, even if the ways do not conform with the purpose for which that Programme was set up in the first place.”

The Interim Coordinator emphasized that the decision to delist beneficiaries was geared towards sanitizing the system and ensuring transparency in the programme.

Speaking on the financial records of the PAP, Ndiomu explain that his administration had almost cleared inherited debts from past administrations.

He averred that the PAP under his leadership had initiated talks with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other agencies to absolve graduates and non-graduates from the region. He said before the end of March this year, another set of ex-agitators would be employed in the Federal Civil Service.

The PAP boss further told the monarchs that the amnesty programme is leveraging on the Pipeline Surveillance Contract currently being handled by Tompolo’s Tantita Security Services, to absorb a critical number of ex-agitators.

In response, King Timiyan who also doubled as the Chairman of the Ijaw Traditional Rulers Forum, Delta State, regretted that past leaders of the PAP dealt directly with ex-agitators without consulting them.

He, however, commended Ndiomu for recognizing the importance of royal fathers in the Amnesty process. “The current leadership of the Amnesty Programme is a bit different, and I think he (Ndiomu) is going to do better,” the monarch stated.

The traditional rulers jointly endorsed the capacity of Ndiomu, while they called for an open-door policy to allow for easy and “time-to-time” conversation. They also noted that his giant strides are the reason for “petitions flying up and down.”

It was gathered Ndiomu’s latest meeting with traditional rulers in the region was a follow-up of a series of strategic stakeholders’ engagements aimed at changing the negative narratives of the PAP.