By Kenneth Ehigiator

LAGOS-The Federal Government, weekend, urged the international community to support its amnesty programme for former militants of the Niger Delta region with a view to bringing lasting peace to the region.

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matters, Mr. Kingsley Kuku said the Government would deal with impostors, who went about printing fake forms, with which they extort money from youths in the Niger Delta region, promising to enlist them in the second phase of the amnesty programme.

Government’s appeal came against the backdrop of refusal of some European countries embassies and high commissions, especially the United Kingdom, to grant entry visa to reformed former militants being sent abroad for skill acquisition and academic training.

Kuku, who made the appeal at a reception in his honour by his Arogbo-Ijaw community in Ondo State, claimed that countries involved in the visa denial were out to scuttle the amnesty programme and create problems for the government.

On Nigeria’s 51st independence anniversary, he said more needed to be done in the area of infrastructure in the Niger Delta, especially with regards to access and feeder roads to the riverine communities, as well as connection of the area to the national grid.

“The international community need to rally support for the amnesty programme through the issuance of visas to the youths seeking vocational skills acquisition to boost local capacity in areas where local content is needed in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

Reacting to the sale of forms and extortion of youths in the Niger Delta, with the pretext of enlisting them into the amnesty programme, Kuku said government would not tolerate the act and warned those involved to stop henceforth.

According to him, those whose only motive was to discredit the gains so far recorded in the past two years of the amnesty programme would be made to face the law.

Kuku lamented that it had come to the notice of the government that some people were printing forms and cajolling people to buy them, adding that those involved were simply criminals, who would be dealt with when  caught.

On the provision of infrastructure in the riverine areas of the Niger Delta, Kuku noted that building bridges would bring development to the region and country.

He also said that 85 per cent of the gross earnings of the country was coming from the region, adding that it would be wrong if some of that amount was not used for development of the region.

He spoke of plans to boost local capacity in the training of former militants in areas where local content was needed in the oil and gas sector.