Abuja – Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ has hailed the appointment of Retired Brigadier General Paul T. Boroh, as the new boss for the Niger Delta Amnesty Program as a step in the right direction.
The organization said in Abuja on Thursday in a press statement by its Executive Director, Rev. David Ugolor that by such an appointment, the Buhari administration has taken a great step to address the frustrations and mismanagement bedeviling the Amnesty programme.
“We have confidence in the choice of a non-political candidate to manage the amnesty programme given the pedigree of Boroh as a former Commandant of the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre (NAPKC) in Kaduna as we look forward to engaging the process for the first time since its enunciation,” says Rev. David Ugolor.
“While ANEEJ welcomes the plan to repackage and resolve immediate hitches in the implementation of outstanding emoluments and stipends to ex-militants.
“However, we are concerned that the theme and direction of the Amnesty Programme has been focused on placating Niger Deltans who have had to make recourse to violence as a strategy for resolving the Niger Delta question.
“This has been done without recourse to the non-violent groups with keen interest for an overarching strategy to address, in a holistic manner, the core issues of the Niger Delta.
These issues are underdevelopment, environmental devastation, massive unemployment and grinding poverty that have remained the lots of our people in the oil rich Niger Delta for over five decades, creating a situation that gave rise to militancy.
“What the new government and indeed the Amnesty boss can do to ensure that he succeeds is to ensure that non-violent groups that have constructively engaged with stakeholders towards the resolution of the Niger Delta phenomenon are carried along this time around.
“They are the missing link in the Amnesty Programme as instituted by late President Yar’Adua’, Ugolor asserts.
“Participation of key Civil Society organisations which have a track record of conflict management and resolution, good governance, human rights and poverty alleviation should be co-opted into the Amnesty Programme.
The Federal Government should then ensure that the programme is properly funded to achieve results and impact.” Ugolor submitted.
“This Amnesty programme was not supposed to last forever.
After the grievances of key ex-militants have been taken into account and dispensed with, the new Amnesty boss should then work towards a multi-stakeholders program that recommends the way out of the issues that led ex-militants to take up arms against their fatherland,” Ugolor said.
“The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has been a consistent voice in asking for prudence, accountability and good governance in the budgets of the Niger Delta States.
It has published several documents concerning the Niger Delta like Oil of Poverty in Niger Delta and How Abacha Loot was spent.”
Good Step but the Niger Delta Nigeria is still underdeveloped
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