•••Wants Expansion, More Budgetary Allocation For Amnesty Programme
By News Desk
The National Convener Of South South Reawakening Group, Mr Joseph Ambakederimo has called on the Governors in the Niger Delta Region to rally around the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr. Dennis Otuaro to usher in accelerated development of the region, just as he rooted for the expansion and more budgetary allocation to the Amnesty Programme in order to be able to shoulder all its new initiatives.
Speaking in Warri, Delta State at a media breakfast chat to mark his 63rd birthday anniversary, Mr Ambakederimo described the new boss of the Presidential Amnesty Programme as a round peg in a round hole.
He said that the country was in strangulation economically due to the physical attack on its oil infrastructure by agitators from the Niger Delta region while the political class was in disarray until some form of normalcy was restored after the proclamation of the Presidential Amnesty in 2009 by the late President Umaru Musa Ya’dua.
Mr Ambakederimo who is also the BOT chairman of the Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas (CDC), stated that “entrepreneurship development” was still a major challenge in the oil rich Niger Delta Region, commending the Presidential Amnesty boss for his efforts in building enterpreneurs to become owners of businesses that will form the bedrock of wealth and job creation.
“The policy initiative pronounced recently by the Amnesty boss in focusing on the entrepreneurship development specifically targeted at women in the region is a new hope and is highly commended by us. This is a determination to create an everlasting impact in the region by redirecting the minds of our young women folks to a productive lifestyle”, he said.
Mr. Ambakederimo who wept over the under development of the oil rich Niger Delta Region implored the Governors in the Region to form strong partnerships with the new Amnesty boss to speed up development of the Niger Delta Region for the betterment of all and sundry.
According to him; “The economic growth and Industrialization, including entrepreneurship development in the Niger Delta is predicated on the judicious management and application of available resources to very key areas as already amplified by the present leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. Therefore it has become imperative for all the Governors of the region to rally around the new leadership and form strong partnerships to usher in accelerated development of the region if the gains of the sustainable peaceful environment must be achieved”.
“The phase of reintegration of the programme is the most critical aspect of the programme which entails the training and retraining, acquisition of skills and entrepreneurship development training, monitoring and mentorship. All of these are capital intensive and needs quick intervention of the Federal Government so that we do not slide back into crisis situation as it were”, Mr Ambakederimo added.
He also said that; “Similarly the call for the expansion of the Amnesty Programme is made to accommodate the operators of the unlicensed refineries to stem the tide of increasing oil theft. There is no better institution or agency than the Amnesty Programme to further expand it’s horizons to take in operators of the unlicensed refineries whom are ready to give up the trade and work with the government to find alternative incentives for them to engage in.
The recent pronouncement made by the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme that the area of more scholarships will be offered to the young people of the region is a welcome development, it will help to stem the recruitment of young people into the business of pipeline vandalism and other vices. Information at our disposal is that many youngsters are being recruited into becoming operators of unlicensed refineries, government must do more to redirect the narrative and the Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas (CDC) is willing to collaborate with the Presidential Amnesty Office to continue the CDC’s ongoing engagement with the operators of the unlicensed refineries and pipeline vandals to embrace dialogue that will enhance their own economic well-being and that of the Nigerian State”.
He further said that; “In calling for the widening of the scope of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to accommodate the gains to be made from our efforts with engagements with operators of the unlicensed refineries, there is also the need for government to increase the budgetary allocation to the programme for it to be able to shoulder all of the new initiatives espoused by the administrator of the programme. Without adequate funding of the Amnesty Programme there is little that can be achieved especially when we have identified the present leadership as a serious and focused leadership that has a burning desire to achieve”.
“To leverage on the peace and Security of the region and Nigeria at large, the CDC commend the National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu whose office superintend over the Presidential Amnesty Office for instituting a special security architecture for the Niger Delta region, this will strengthen and further the position of the Amnesty Programme, but in going further the successes of such initiatives can only be achieved if the CDC is made a partner. Therefore we urge the Office of the NSA to so collaborate with the leadership of the CDC in formulating such security initiative. With the foregoing we hereby enjoin all well meaning Nigerian to support this single initiative of government that has seen remarkable achievement”, he said.
