PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper News Across The Region
Related Articles
By Amos Odhe, Yenagoa
Niger Deltans have been advised to “desist from writing destructive petitions, blackmailing and making defamatory remarks about distinguished personalities appointed into position of trust,” but to rather “encourage them to excel and become role models worthy of emulation.”
Leader of the Sagbama camp leaders of the Presidential Amnesty Program, Gen Elaye Slaboh, in conjunction with the leadership of the third phase of the program, stated this while debunking the recent online publication by “a group which styles itself as coalition of ex-agitators, calling for the suspension of the current interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Program, Major – General B.T. Ndiomu from office over spurious allegations.”
Elaye Slaboh, who is also as the acting national secretary of the third phase of the program, who was flanked by David Osaikeme, Victor Occasion, Davison Suboh, while speaking to journalists in Yenagoa, described the online publication as “not only fake, but false, misleading and should be discountenance by the general public and stakeholders in its entirety.
“The statements were untrue, baseless, calculated and sponsored attempts to cause distraction from the good work of the new IA, Major-General B.T. Ndiomu rtd.”
He said that the “so-called ex-agitators were unknown faces, whose names were not found in the PAP data base, who hide themselves under ulterior motives to do the biddings of their pay masters,” adding that there was “no iota of truth in the said publication as checks from bumper to pumper revealed that it was crystal clear that it was concocted lies by a faceless group, that are envious of the reputation and progress being made currently at the PAP under the watch of the IA.”
According to Slaboh, Major-General Ndiomu (rtd) “had served the nation and retired meritoriously from the Nigerian Army and could not have subjected himself to do things that would dent his hard earned image over the years, by siphoning funds in connivance with unscrupulous elements to divert funds meant to better the living standards of the ex-agitators in a system monitored by Federal Government.
He noted that the IA “couldn’t misappropriate what was meant to run the PAP as if he could siphon such huge sum of money as alleged by the group, what would be left for the training of delegates, contractors and sundry issues.”
Slaboh said Niger Deltans “should stop peddling fake rumours, pull him down syndrome that is preponderant in this part of the region and allow him to complete to the logical conclusion by strengthening the program with the various reforms he has initiated, such as the verification and delisting, meeting with various ministries and parastatals with the aim of providing them permanent employment.”
Also, another leader of the Sagbama camp of ex-agitators, Gen Princewill Kotingo, urged “everybody to be calm and shun being instigated to cause chaos as the IA who barely resumed four months now should not be distracted to truncate the system, as mechanism has been put in place to pay all genuine ex-agitators that were affected by the verification exercise,” as he called for “support of all to enable the IA to succeed,” adding that the petitioners are “jealous of the reforms which no longer give room for their fraudulent tendencies and were ready to fight back.
“The IA policies and programs have become a source of worry and concern to those who hitherto have benefited from the fraudulent acts and they see him as their enemy of progress, and would want to fight back by all means, including writing destructive petitions,” he said.
