The National Committee of Yoruba Youths on Tuesday rose in defence of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, with a call on President Muhammadu Buhari to strengthen the programme for more efficiency.
The group in a statement by its President, Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, and Registrar, Oyewole Olurin, decried what it described as campaign of calumny against the past handlers of the programme with a view to misleading the Buhari-led administration into taking actions that could be counter productive to the letters setting up the agency.
The group particularly noted the recent unsubstantiated media reports targeted at the PAP and its managers, especially Hon. Kingsley Kuku, the immediate past Special Adviser on Niger Delta and Chairman of the programme.
It said it was intended to cast aspersion on the personality of Kuku and by extension discredit the programme.
The statement said: “These statements are either concocted, unsubstantiated, pure conjectures or outright falsehood. In this instance, may we reference the call on Mr. President to probe the Amnesty Programme by the so-called Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project.
“SERAP premised its call on complaints of corruption within the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, which had come to its notice sent by some personalities from a community called Patani in Delta State.
“It is curious that SERAP had already passed a guilty verdict on the PAP in the court of public opinion based on a mere hearsay from six persons about a scheme that has no fewer than 30,000 beneficiaries. This clearly shows that the group is simply acting out a script to discredit the programme, its Managers and the immediate past Chairman. We equally find it amusing that SERAP could offer its platform for some cowardly political machinery to attack the PAP. These characters alleged that they had not received their monthly stipends of N65,000 under the programme since November 2010.
“The clear question then is, why wait till year 2015 before making these allegations? If truly they are among the beneficiaries, why haven’t they explored the internal mechanism within the programme to get paid? Why didn’t they complain to the managers of the programme, whose doors are always open? Certainly, this call by SERAP and indeed the allegations lack substance. It can easily be dismissed as the handiwork of and another futile attempt by political jobbers bent on distracting the managers of the programme and to equally cast aspersions on the person of Hon. Kingsley Kuku, whose successful implementation of the presidential mandate on the programme has brought pride to our nation.
“SERAP in its haste to tag the managers of PAP with the brush of corruption and fraud clearly refused to make any official enquiries from the Amnesty Office about the said allegations. Nothing exposes SERAP’s ignorance in matters relating to national affairs than the unsubstantiated criticism of the laudable programme which in our estimation has been well managed and coordinated.
“The result of the various programmes of the Amnesty Office are self-evident and have definitely impacted positively on the lives and well-being of the youths and communities in the Niger Delta region. Since the PAP commenced training in year 2009, no fewer than 20,000 ex agitators out of the 30,000 beneficiaries have been trained locally and offshore. Today, with the successful implementation of the Amnesty Programme, Nigeria’s crude oil production hovers between 2.2million barrels and 2.4million barrels per day.
“These are verifiable and the figures support our assertion that the PAP does not engage in fraudulent or corrupt practices. Indeed, what Hon. Kuku and the managers of the programme deserve are accolades and not mudslinging and wicked propaganda by evil detractors, who now see the Amnesty Programme as their next target for reasons that are far from being noble.
“If SERAP is truly the advocate of peoples right, it ought to have lent its voice to the plight of workers in states where workers and pensioners are being owed up to six month salaries. SERAP has equally failed to condemn the carnage going on in the northern part of the Country. What a conflict of consensus!
“There is no doubt that political charlatans and enemies are at work fuelling unnecessary rumours and insinuation. Their aim is to destroy the good name and corporate reputation of managers of the programme. We therefore want to draw the attention of Nigerians to these speculative and self-serving statements and reports aimed at destabilising the PAP. We also call on media organisations (whether mainstream or online) to be weary of accepting or publishing statement or stories that seek to pursue a narrow political agenda. Rather they should make their organisations a platform for proper news dissemination and constructive analyses such that can help our country tackle the current security problems and create jobs. While we appreciate, recognize and respect the right of every media house to publish any news, It is important that they are not party to the activities of disgruntled politicians and jobbers bent misleading the unsuspecting public.”
—
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
