The Niger Delta Volunteers has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Presidential Amnesty Programme to address injustices allegedly meted out to repentant militants in Akwa Ibom State.

This was contained in a statement by the group’s leader, General Ekpo Ekpo, and the Director of Information and Communications, Major General Henry Okon Etete, and made available to South-South PUNCH correspondent in Uyo the state capital on Tuesday.

They alleged that former agitators who were enlisted and properly documented as beneficiaries of the PAP have not been benefiting from the monthly stipends and training, threatening to embark on mass action in the state and other locations in the region if their complaints are not addressed.

They further alleged that former agitators from the state are treated as inferior to their counterparts in other Niger Delta states.

They said, “The Presidential Amnesty Office is supposed to be a rallying point for all the former militants in the Niger Delta, but surprisingly, Akwa Ibom State beneficiaries have been singled out and made to face undue hardship, as a result of this sheer oppression against us by the Presidential Amnesty Office over the years.

“It is unfortunate to state here that the Presidential Amnesty beneficiaries from Akwa Ibom State have been singled out to suffer untold marginalization and oppression ranging from diversion of their monthly stipends and outright stoppage of monthly stipends without reason.

“There hasn’t been any empowerment of any beneficiary from the state amongst other injustices. It is therefore pertinent to state that these injustices against Akwa Ibom beneficiaries enlisted into the Presidential Amnesty Programme have reached the highest point and would therefore be fiercely resisted by any means necessary.

“It is sad to note that beneficiaries from other Niger Delta states have been sent to study in the oil and gas and other related fields overseas, while Akwa Ibom State beneficiaries are asked to go and learn poultry and fish farming in their localities. This is unacceptable and will henceforth be resisted.

“It is common knowledge that the Presidential Amnesty Office stopped the payment of monthly stipends to 22 out of the 46 beneficiaries of Ukanafun Freedom Fighters in 2010, a few months after their enrolment. Several efforts have been made to ensure that the 22 beneficiaries are paid but to no avail.

“It is unfortunate to state that even the leadership empowerment contracts always awarded by the Presidential Amnesty Office to camp leaders are also done without any Akwa Ibom State Camp Leader, neither do they normally invite any Camp Leader from Akwa Ibom State to stakeholders meetings organized by the Amnesty Office, this is tactically done to conceal useful information while continuing in their fraudulent activities for reasons best known to them.

“We call on the National Security Adviser, the Director General of the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police to take this as a notice that we will embark on mass action in Akwa Ibom State and other locations within the Niger Delta region if the Presidential Amnesty Office fails to address all these issues.” (The PUNCH)

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