Niger Delta activist and spokesperson for the Ijaw
Republican Assembly, Ms. Annkio Briggs, has criticised the decision of
President Muhammadu Buhari to discontinue the ongoing Niger Delta
Amnesty Programme.
The amnesty programme was instituted on August 6, 2009 by
the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to tackle the
growing militancy in the region, including destruction of oil pipelines,
illegal bunkering, kidnapping and illegal refineries.
But Buhari had said in his inaugural speech on Friday that the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta would end in December, 2015.
He added, “But the government intends to invest heavily in
the projects, and programmes currently in place. I call on the
leadership and people in these areas to cooperate with the state and
federal governments in the rehabilitation programmes, which will be
streamlined and made more effective.
“As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow
Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring
peace and build prosperity for our people.”
In an interview , Briggs expressed
disappointment with the decision. She said though Buhari, as President,
did not need anyone’s permission to do what he thought was right for the
Niger Delta, it did not make such a decision justifiable.
Briggs
added, “I always say we should not forget the reason why we have the
amnesty programme today in Nigeria. People should not forget that the
programme is not to address the issue of the Niger Delta. It was set up
to address the reaction to what is wrong with the Niger Delta, which was
agitation.
“The major beneficiary of amnesty is the Federal Government
of Nigeria because the acceptance of amnesty increased the output of
fuel (oil). Secondly, the amnesty programme is meant to cover about
30,000 people.
“I would think that any incoming government would want to
find out if the amnesty ends with the number of people that we are
supposed to be catering for and address whatever issues that would arise
from that investigation to find out what is on the ground for the
programme.”
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