Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), has renewed his call for the transition of the programme into a Social Intervention Programme (SIP).
Ndiomu, who made this call, yesterday, in Abuja, while receiving the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) led by its President, Jonathan Lokpobiri, insisted that the sustainable peace being enjoyed in the region is “90 per cent” traceable to various innovative programmes of the PAP, which are designed to improve the lives of the people.
Clearing the air on the amnesty’s scholarship programmes, Ndiomu reiterated that the scheme is ongoing, and that his administration has cleared all academic bills of its beneficiaries, both for local and foreign students.
He commended the IYC President for his acknowledgement of paucity of funds in the PAP. He said: “When people make comments without getting their facts right, it becomes displeasing.”
Ndiomu further charged the IYC leadership to take up the responsibility of preaching the many success stories of the PAP to young people in the region, advising them to drop the culture of laziness and indolence, and begin to think of “bigger” ways to sustainably improve their lives.
The Interim Administrator expressed worry that young people in the region were not taking full advantage of the enormous opportunities in natural habitat for rice farming, and the untapped potential of oil palm production.
