Ex-militant leaders under the aegis of Urhobo Gbagbako, have called on the Federal Government to restructure the amnesty programme.
They want the programme to be restructured so that it will accommodate those who surrendered arms and were issued with Joint Task Force, JTF, certificates but are yet to be documented for payment and training.
They also want the FG to overhaul and restructure the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to pave way for “genuine host communities” to also partake in the agency’s development programmes, Vanguard reports.
This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesman of the ex-militants, Priest Omodjuvwu.
They noted that there had been talks about the scrapping of the amnesty programme and the oil pipeline surveillance contract job since the inception of President Mumammadu Buhari’s administration.
“There has not been any mention of oil blocs being allocated to a few highly placed individuals outside the Niger Delta region nor plans by the Federal Government to ameliorate the continuous despoliation of the Niger Delta environment with unending exploration and exploitation of our crude oil.
“No one has talked about relocating the head offices of oil producing companies from Lagos and Abuja to the Niger Delta region. Our president must be reminded that the Niger Delta amnesty programme was not initiated by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua administration because of his love for the Niger Delta but to guarantee continued oil production,” the statement read.
The ex-militants have vowed to fight the NDDC case to the last because those who were appointed into the board have not given priority to the host communities.
Recall that some Niger Delta ex-militants had earlier asked President Buhari to review the oil pipeline and water ways security contract awarded by former President Goodluck Jonathan to some ex-militant leaders
About a week ago, the FG had appealed to ex-militants in the Niger Delta region not to resort to violence over the delay in the payment of their May allowances owed onshore and offshore beneficiaries of the amnesty scheme.
They want the programme to be restructured so that it will accommodate those who surrendered arms and were issued with Joint Task Force, JTF, certificates but are yet to be documented for payment and training.
They also want the FG to overhaul and restructure the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to pave way for “genuine host communities” to also partake in the agency’s development programmes, Vanguard reports.
This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesman of the ex-militants, Priest Omodjuvwu.
They noted that there had been talks about the scrapping of the amnesty programme and the oil pipeline surveillance contract job since the inception of President Mumammadu Buhari’s administration.
“There has not been any mention of oil blocs being allocated to a few highly placed individuals outside the Niger Delta region nor plans by the Federal Government to ameliorate the continuous despoliation of the Niger Delta environment with unending exploration and exploitation of our crude oil.
“No one has talked about relocating the head offices of oil producing companies from Lagos and Abuja to the Niger Delta region. Our president must be reminded that the Niger Delta amnesty programme was not initiated by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua administration because of his love for the Niger Delta but to guarantee continued oil production,” the statement read.
The ex-militants have vowed to fight the NDDC case to the last because those who were appointed into the board have not given priority to the host communities.
Recall that some Niger Delta ex-militants had earlier asked President Buhari to review the oil pipeline and water ways security contract awarded by former President Goodluck Jonathan to some ex-militant leaders
About a week ago, the FG had appealed to ex-militants in the Niger Delta region not to resort to violence over the delay in the payment of their May allowances owed onshore and offshore beneficiaries of the amnesty scheme.
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