Ex-agitators seek Amnesty overhaul

TRACKING >>Ex-Niger Delta agitators have called for an overhaul of the Amnesty Programme.

The ex-agitators, under the aegis of United Ex-Freedom Fighters Forum, noted that the programme has been derailed from its original purpose and direction.

The group also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the disappearance of empowerment equipment worth N60 billion from the amnesty office.

According to the Coordinator, Mutu Dumex, the amnesty programme has been derailed and it is no longer achieving the purpose t was set up for. Dumex said the programme was failing in its responsibilities as it was yet to pay fees of over 2,000 students and their stipends in the last 13 months.

He noted that for the programme to succeed, it must be driven by a younger and vibrant person who understands the intricacies.

They, therefore, urged President Buhari to appoint a younger and vibrant coordinator for the programme as part of the overhaul.

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Dumex said: “We call for a complete overhaul of the Amnesty Programme to reposition it to the lofty goals it was set for. Successive leaders of the programme have derived from the dreams set out for the programme by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. We need the head to be removed. Considering his age, he has not been able to move around troubled areas in the region.

“We need somebody who understands the mechanism in controlling the youths. We need a gallant and vibrant youth with deep understanding of the situation in the region to head the amnesty programme.”

Dumex added that since the leadership of the amnesty programme has failed to investigate the N60 billion empowerment equipment theft, the forum will “implore the ICPC, EFCC and the DSS to carry put a comprehensive investigation and forensic auditing of the scheme’s current administration.”