Ex-agitators in the Niger Delta have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to hold the Senate responsible should there be renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta.
They said the lawmakers are on a mission to disrupt the existing peace in the region with their scripted plans to destabilise the good works of the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd).
The former warlords at a media briefing in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said the ongoing probe of the Amnesty programme by the upper chamber is nothing but a witch-hunt aimed at embarrassing Dikio and making a mess of all that he had achieved within a short period of time since he took over.
Chairman of the First Phase Ex-agitators Forum, HRH Henry Binidodogha, also known as Egbema 1, said the issue listed in the probe predates the tenure of Dikio and wondered why the Senate Public Accounts Committee will rope him into it.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a report in the media by the Senate, inviting our boss, Colonel Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd) to appear before them else they would arrest him. We want to say that this move is capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in the Niger Delta region.
“Before we go further, let me reiterate here that we have never seen anyone manage this Amnesty programme since its inception as Col. Dikio has done. So, we see the invitation of the Senate as a witch-hunt because the matter happened in 2018 and as at then Dikio was not in charge of the programme.
“Even with the malfeasance he met, he has not blamed anybody or accused anyone but has been working seriously, transforming the programme and affecting lives of the people positively, particularly the PAP beneficiaries. His achievements are visible for all to see.”
He went further to say, “For the records, this is the first time ex-agitators are going for training with the assurance of being engaged immediately after the training under the Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) scheme. It has never happened before. This is also the first time we have experienced a non-violent approach to issues. No more protests and counter protests as it used to be. This is also the first time that the monthly stipends are paid as and when due.
“We do not want to believe that the Senate Committee is trying to subdue our leader and brother who have come to change the narrative and perception of the PAP. Let us put them on notice that we will resist it with all our strength and might. As delegates and critical stakeholders in the region we will not allow them to rubbish him and the Amnesty programme”.
On his part, one of the leaders, High Chief Andabafa Namah, also known as Opunamah noted that while the Senate committee headed by Senator Matthew Urhogbide has the statutory right of carrying out their oversight functions, they must be careful and be sincere, especially when it has to do with the Niger Delta.
According to him, it makes no sense whatsoever to compel a man to answer for an alleged offence that he knows nothing about and therefore urged the Senate committee to stop the sponsored media trial and invite those responsible to answer for themselves what transpired in 2018.
“We are suprised that an institution like the Senate will allow themselves to be used by desperate people who are trying to fight back because of their hatred for Dikio. Let me say this, we will take this matter to any length. We will not allow evildoers to hold us to ransom. Never again.
“Those who have been fired from the PAP deserved it because they were not adding value to the system. They have for too long stifled the smooth operations of the programme because of their greed. What we are seeing is a revival of PAP to meet its expectations.
“We know the pressure Dikio is going through because he refused to offer contracts to people who are not capable of handling such contracts. We don’t want to believe that the Senators are guilty of this.
“Dikio has said contracts can only be awarded to people who meet the expected standards and we stand by that. Only recently he terminated a contract because the company breached the terms and we supported him”, he added.
