BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN CITY—South South Professionals and the Niger Delta Youth Coalition, NDYC, have urged the Federal Government to undertake a holistic review of the amnesty programme with a view to ensuring that “idle minds” among the repentant militants were not used by desperate politicians to derail the country’s democracy.

The groups, while commending youths from the Niger Delta region for shunning the planned protest in Abuja, called by the Leadership and Cultural Development Initiative last Monday, following their demand for the removal of the Managing Director of the Pipeline Products and Marketing Company, PPMC, Mr Haruna Momoh over alleged scarcity of kerosene, regretted that some ex-militants were being used by politicians for their selfish interest.

In a joint statement by Mr Emmanuel Kumbowei and Mr. Solomon Edentale, the two groups admonished youths against making themselves available tools for politicians, pointing out that it was regrettable that some of the ex-militants, who had been granted amnesty with the tax payers money were the ones causing confusion.

“That is why we are advising the Federal Government to review the amnesty programme because there are youths, who don’t deserve what they are getting from the Federal Government. The amnesty programme should be reviewed so as to remove the idle minds from the system and allow the serious ones to enjoy the programme. The Federal Government cannot continue to waste the tax payers’ money on some unserious youths.”

Commending youths for shunning the planned rally against the PPMC boss in Abuja, the groups noted that the protest was planned by self seeking and “mischievous politicians, who don’t mean well for the country and the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.