In response to the de-listing of 2,952 recipients from the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the Amnesty Office’s reluctance to pay them the N65,000 monthly stipends, some former military youths organized a protest march on Tuesday in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State.
The Amnesty Office’s refusal to put the affected 2,952 beneficiaries back on the payroll and immediately pay them their stipend, in the opinion of the protesting ex-militant Phase Two beneficiaries, will result in the occupation of the Abuja office and a strategic disruption of the presidential campaigns of political parties in the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
The angry ex-militant gave the Amnesty office a week to start paying people who had been removed off the program’s payroll after organizing a parade to the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists in Yenagoa under the leadership of Aso Tambo, their national chairman.
Aso Tambo claims that despite the successes made by the interim administrator, Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (retired), in terms of the beneficiary’s employment and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the refusal to pay the 2,952 beneficiaries will lead to conflict and shatter the fragile peace that currently exists in the area.
Tambo said, “We have all come together and decided our approach against the Amnesty Office’s reluctance to pay 2,952 recipients.
We demand payment from those impacted within a week, failing which we will strategically mobilize and occupy the Presidential Amnesty Office.
We won’t let the peaceful conduct of presidential campaigns in the nine Niger Delta states if the debt is not still paid.
“If they think we are just dogs that bark and cannot bite, they should challenge us and watch what happens,” he continued.
They ought to value the monthly stipend and understand that delaying payment will result in an unthinkable scenario.
The disgruntled youngsters also requested that the Presidential Amnesty Office consult with beneficiaries and stakeholders before choosing 20 recipients for the current scholarship program to support their further education.
