PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME: REMOVE NDIOMU AS ADMINISTRATOR, PROBE HIS CORRUPT LEADERSHIP —EX-AGITATORS URGE TINUBU
By Rahaman Yusuf
A group of former agitators in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, under the aegis of ‘Ex-agitators’ Elite Forum’, have called on President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, look into the activities of the office of the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), to check the “reckless corruption, mismanagement of public funds” and other illegalities it alleged to be going on in the office.
The group, in a statement signed by the president, ‘General’ Amaebi Afiye, and made available to TheReports, accused the Interim Administrator of the programme, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) “uninspiring leadership”, which has “completely disabled” the vision of the programme.
The ex-agitators, who claimed the Interim Administrator does not want to leave the presidential amnesty office despite the expiration of his tenure, urged Tinubu to remove Ndiomu and make him (Ndiomu) answer for all the illegalities he has perpetrated in the office.
The statement, titled ‘PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAM (PAP) IN SHACKLES OF INSIDIOUS CORRUPTION AND ENTRENCHED ILLEGALITIES UNDER MAJOR GENERAL BARRY TARIYE NDIOMU (rtd)’, read: “To what extent shall we condone a man who has nothing to show as the lnterim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Office(PAP)?
“Under Major General Barry Ndiomu’s leadership, the PAP has reclined into a pathetic abyss. Mindless diversion of funds, entrenched illegalities, banal corruption, and savage mismanagement of funds have been the in-things.
“To Ndiomu, the restraining appeals of conscience are inconsequential. He indulges in administrative roguery with reckless abandon. His contempt for probity and the law beggars belief!
“Ndiomu’s quest to undo the Niger Delta is simply vicious. Only his pockets must be lined to the fullest with proceeds of corruption of the most insidious hue. Little wonder that he has received #5.2 billion naira as monthly allocation from the federal government for nine months, summing up to the tune of #46.8 billion without any achievement whatsoever.
“In spite of such a humongous amount of money at his disposal, Ndiomu has not deployed any ex-agitator for vocational training, neither has he offered any scholarship to deserving ex-agitators who are willing to go to school as was done by previous managers of the PAP. As a matter of fact, Ndiomu must be held to account for what he has been doing with the monthly allocation to the PAP.
“It is on record that Ndiomu has diverted hundreds of millions of naira by fraudulently revalidating and appropriating contracts executed by his predecessors as his own. This is a very criminal act that must be investigated and sanctioned appropriately.
“Under the uninspiring leadership of Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu rdt, the vision of the PAP has been completely disabled. It is a regime of absolute inertia. The intendment for the creation of the office has also been unconscionably muffled. The stifled PAP is now in need of attention for precipitous redemption.
“In the midst of all these prevalent inanities, Ndiomu does not want to leave the Presidential Amnesty Office even when his tenure has expired. As l write, he has surreptitiously secured 6months tenure elongation. This is one of the strategems Ndiomu is capable of.
“In all, just like Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ndiomu must be held to answer for reckless corruption, mismanagement of public funds, entrenchment of illegalities among others by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the period he has held sway as lnterim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Program. Only this will serve as deterrent to others who think public office is for fun and personal aggrandizement!”
