By Dayo Johnson, Akure

The leadership of the Coalition of Niger Delta Civil Society Groups have appealed to the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to retain and extend the tenure of the interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), in order not to halt the current transformation in the program.

The Coalition which includes the Niger Delta Solidarity Forum, Niger Delta Progressive Front and Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Movement also demanded that Ndiomu be appointed substantive Chairman or the Special Adviser to the President on the Amnesty programme.

Speaking in Akure, the Ondo state capital, the Coordinator of the groups, Comrade Bunawari Famous Doso and other leaders of the groups, said that “if Ndiomu’s tenure is extended, he will achieve a lot more in the scorecard, given his passion for development and promotion of the ideals of the office.

So, said that ” We call on the incoming Administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to retain this man who has taken public service as indeed a call to service and he will make sure he continues to fight corruption and make the PAP saner.

“We cannot afford to have a halt in the progress of the current transformation that is greeting this programme, rather we need to advance the course of the programme”.

Doso noted that lots of achievements are ascribed to Ndiumo’s administration, which include but not limited to the Amnesty Corporative Scheme.

“As critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta region, we have observed for the last few years that all is not well with the Amnesty institution created by the federal government many years ago until our amiable General came on board to retool it.

“Coming from an era where the entitlements and welfare of beneficiaries of the PAP projects were bastardised on the altar of selfish interest and personal aggrandizement, General Ndiomu came like a Messiah we have all been waiting for to liberate our people from bondage.

“He shared in our people’s yearning and aspirations and gave accelerated directives on the payment of outstanding entitlements of our people which some individuals deliberately withheld for reasons best known to them for more than 3 years.

“He started by rallying around support from philanthropists in the country as a way of making sure some of these bright and promising ex-agitators may begin to widen the scope of their income the moment they are able to invest some of the grants that would be given to them.

” He met with the European Union delegates on how best his proposed cooperative scheme for the ex-agitator could be more fast-tracked in his bid to ensure that people are empowered beyond the scope of the monthly stipends”, he stressed.

” The interim administrator’s penchant to make sure the beneficiaries of the scheme can become more useful for themselves and their communities also made him approach the top hierarchies of the Military and Para-Military for possible recruitment of promising individuals.

“One thing we note with all sense of humility is that General Ndiomu is a man of large heart who understands the situation of his people and would go the extra mile to ensure no one is made to suffer for their rights.

“Even as a military officer, he was a kind person who used his office to benefit the lives of his people.

“We are not surprised that some people are disgruntled with the man who have been working assiduously well to ensure that the people he oversees do not turn out shortchanged on what is due to them.

“Our people have been fed with a series of campaigns of calumny capable of causing anarchy.

“One thing however that is being untold by these individuals sponsoring series of protests to tarnish the image of our leader is how they were exposed for receiving multiple monthly payments via many bank accounts.

Doro said that “General Ndiomu came on board to expose these frauds in order to allow qualified beneficiaries access to their entitlement”.