SPEAKING @Courtesy Meeting in Abuja,
The Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme cum Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Hon. Kingsley Kuku said that His Office is not in the BIZNESS of Disarming any Ex-Agitator in the Region for NOW as widely speculated by some Persons in some Quarters, Kuku decried the Statement/Rumor while receiving Senior delegates from the ITSEKIRI National Youth Council (INYC) led by its National President, David Tonwa, during a Courtesy Call at his Office in Abuja. The Group in turn thanked and appraised the Leadership and Selfless Service of Hon. Kuku and pleaded for more Time for the Itsekiri’s to make proper consultations in producing their own candidates for the Next Batch in accordance to the quota system #500Slots
Hon. Kuku seized the opportunity to state the commitment of the Presidency in making the programme a further success despite the Odds and Challenges facing it, he also debunked claims by some persons in the Region who alleged the non inclusion of other Nationalities in the Region except the IJAW extract, as the visit of the (INYC) brought to the knowledge of all that all other Nationalities from the Region are fully incorporated in the Programme.
It can be recalled that the introduction of the Presidetial Amnesty Programme is the rationale behind the known PEACE and Tranquility experienced in the Region which has further increased Our Oil Revenue which accounts to over 90% of the Country’s generated Revenue/Income.
Hence it is necessary for a sustenance to keep the Nation’s Economy in check.
-MOA
Culled:THISDAYLIFE
The Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, has declared that no form of disarmament is going on in the Niger Delta region, affirming that the only exercise currently being undertaken was the verification of arms earlier submitted by some ex-agitators.
The verification team, he stated, is under the Inter-Agency Task Force (ITF) chaired by Air Vice Marshal James Gbum, sequel to the approval of President Goodluck Jonathan for the inclusion of an additional 3,642 formerly armed youths in the Niger Delta in the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), to constitute the final phase.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (ITF) is to carry out a proper reconciliation of the disarmament records of the ex-agitators and effect a thorough documentation of the persons that truly surrendered arms to military formations (especially the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) or other security agencies in the states in the Niger Delta.
Kuku, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta made the clarification, while receiving executive members of the Itsekiri National Youth Council (INYC) led by its National President, David Tonwa, during a courtesy visit in Abuja.
He noted that anyone carrying arms in the region under any guise outside the ones already surrendered by the ex-agitators risked being arrested by the JTF and prosecuted.
Public Relations Officer of the council, Abigor Gbube, had told Kuku that their visit was to appreciate him for the way he had so far driven the Amnesty programme as well as to find out whether the 500 slots allotted to the Ijaw ethnic nationality was part of the third phase.
Gbube also disclosed that the visit was to apologize for the delay in submitting the list of 500 Itsekiri nominees for inclusion among the 642 final phase beneficiaries of the programme, noting that there had been some setbacks. According to him, since the council did not have the authority to nominate and send the list of the 500 potential beneficiaries, various communities in Itsekiri were asked to nominate, adding that this had led to the late submission of the list to the Amnesty Office.
He appealed to Kuku for about two weeks grace period within which the communities are expected to have sent their inclusion on the list to be sent to the Amnesty Office, adding that already, a substantial number of nominees had been received. Responding, Kuku thanked them for the visit, assuring them that his office was ready to work with them for the overall development and good of the Niger Delta region.
He appreciated the enormous task that had fallen on their shoulders in the quest to coordinate the list of nominees for the final phase of the programme, urging them not to allow their zeal to work for their people be dampened.
-@MOAgbajoh
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