By TINA TIMOTHY

The National Association for Presidential Amnesty Students Worldwide (NAPASW) has expressed displeasure over the ailing condition of beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) under its Interim Administrator, Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd).

The association bared it mind in an Open Letter to Col. Dikio, dated Tuesday, June 28, 2022 and signed by its President, Lucky Ukueku.

In the letter, the group outlined the plight of the PAP students, ranging from neglect, maltreatment, deprivation to threats, among others.

The letter reads: “I am writing to inform you, that all is not well with PAP Students under your administration, reasons:

“Under your administration, for the first time in the history of the amnesty programme, for it not to issue laptops to beneficiaries and little or nothing was done from the office to salvage the situation for them. They are neglected to their fate.

“First class students were not honoured and as a programme for continuity, the office is supposed to award and encourage them by giving them a job or continue their program in the Masters category, but no encouragement of such came from the office.

“A student ITA was held for agitating for inclusion of a group of students and reconsider paying their backlogs the office owed them. No mercy was shown to the student rather a military approach was taken against him in that regard. Operation no mercy.

“Under your administration, any form of unity in the students community was shattered and we are like children without a father, which has resulted to disunity in the PAP Students Community.

“No physical verification/Assessment of schools’ facilities.

“No condolences message whenever we lose our fellow students to the cold hand of death, which is supposed to come from a father to his children.

“No special attention to the Students Community, apart from the payment of their ITA.

“You never give a listening ear to the students leadership like previous administrations, rather you threaten to deal with them.

“Our fellow students having a court cases with PAP Office is first in the history of the programme and if this continues, this programme will be stopped, which will be detrimental to the region. An avenue to light up the Niger Delta region through massive education of all, birthed through the struggle of our compatriots.

“Africa University issue was neglected. Transfer of aggression of an individual to PAP Students Community.

“Students were threatened with being withdrawn from the scholarship scheme for expressing their grievances and you promised to make them scapegoats. The world allows the criticism of a system in order for the system to grow, but under your administration nothing like that is allowed.

“We expected much from you as a students’ community because of your exposure. We wanted the world of awareness you have gathered through life to better the programme and make it the envy of the world; but what we are seeing is the opposite. All the same, the Niger Delta man will always be Niger Delta man despite the quantum of information he has.

“Sir, we know you are a military man like the other administrators, but we the students community are not pleased with you. I must say this without fear or favour. Those who are celebrating you in the student community are not doing you good, tomorrow their names won’t be mentioned when history will be given. For these reasons, Sir, please, we need your attention. Not for me, the National President, but for the sake of one Niger Delta.”

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