THE Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front has called on the Federal Government to review its Amnesty Programme to address the problem facing the oil rich region.
Head of the group and a former militant leader, Precious Iyoyo, said in Port Harcourt that his members refused to embrace amnesty due to the failure of the programme to tackle the reason behind the agitation of the Niger Delta people.
Iyoyo expressed dissatisfaction that some ex-militants, who were trained abroad with billions of naira through the Amnesty Programme, could not be employed by the Federal Government.
The ex-fighter, who is also known as Commander Playboy, stated that the Federal Government should have invested the funds used in training some of the former militants in establishing manufacturing industries.
According to him, such industries will help to create job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths and put an end to agitation and youth restiveness in the region.
Iyoyo said, “We are making this clarion call to the federal and state governments to take a second look at the way the amnesty programme is presently structured. It is obvious that the programme has not yielded the desired result, especially in the area of job creation.
“Most of the youths in the Niger Delta are unemployed. The programme should have been used to empower the youths and put an end to their sufferings. This was the promise of the Federal Government in 2009.
“The truth is that It is frustrating to see the ex-freedom fighters that have been trained abroad and coming back home, they do not have anything to do; they have no jobs to fall back on. It is abnormal.”
Appealing to the Federal Government to embrace people-oriented policies that will create job opportunities for unemployed youths, Iyoyo expressed the need for government to review the amnesty programme to accommodate other Niger Delta agitators.
“The Federal Government should also integrate those freedom fighters who did not take amnesty in 2009 into productive empowerment schemes so that ‘the boys’ will not go back to the creeks or be used by politicians to foment trouble during the 2015 general election,” the ex-fighter added.
SOURCE : Punchng
