3,642 MORE EX-MILITANTS TO BENEFIT FROM AMNESTY PROGRAMME - FG

Written by Yinka Oladoyinbo Akure Tuesday, 04 September 2012

 The Federal Government has concluded arrangements to expand the amnesty programme to include an addition of over 3,642 beneficiaries from the Niger Delta region of the country to bring the total number of beneficiaries to 30,000. Already, the memo to that effect has been presented to President Goodluck Jonathan for approval before the end of September. The expansion of the scheme to accommodate the beneficiaries would, however, be subject to the approval of the president. The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and chairman of the Amnesty programme, Kingsley Kuku, said this in Arogbo Kingdom, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, at a rally organised in support of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Chief Olusola Oke. He said the expansion was sequel to agitations from those that were not considered in the first phase of the programme. “There is agitation going on in the Niger Delta and I have always been at the fore-front of the clamour that the amnesty programme has to close, the boys are unrelenting and the security agencies have collected their arms, the only option opened to us is to return their arms, so if we are not going to return their arms, they should be included in the programme one way or the other. “So my office and that of the National Security Adviser have met and forwarded a memo to the president and plead with him to consider the final inclusion of 3642 persons to the present 26368 to make it 30,000. “The way I am pursuing it, between now and October 1, we will have the final say from Mr President, whether he will accept or not,” Kuku said. He added that the programme was being expanded to include those people that did not carry arms during the Niger Delta struggle but worked for the ex-agitators.