By Adeleye Kunle
Former activists of the now-defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, warned politicians yesterday to stay away from the Presidential Amnesty Office unless their involvements are in line with the mandate of Niger Delta peace.
The ex-agitators issued a statement through the Western zonal spokesman, Captain Loveday Angokuro, following the Senate’s threat to issue an arrest warrant for the interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Col. Milland Dikio, retd.
Senator Matthew Urhogbide, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, threatened to arrest Dikio over the weekend for allegedly failing to appear before his committee.
However, the ex-agitators claimed that the Edo politician and some of his colleagues were on a personal vendetta because they were unable to obtain favors from the Amnesty Office.
“To the best of our knowledge, the senator’s so-called threat is a personal and ego mission,” the statement said. He and his companions are on a personal vendetta as a result of a failed attempt to extract highly disproportionate favors from the Amnesty Office.
“To the best of our knowledge, Col. Milland Dikio, the current Interim Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, has successfully piloted the affairs of the office since assuming leadership of the PAP.”
“Col. Dikio has altered the narrative to the best of his ability while maintaining high standards. As a result, the Senator’s claim that the Interim Administrator avoided the Senate Committee on Public Accounts is false.
“According to our findings, the said Senator made a number of private attempts to meet with the Interim Administrator in order to obtain assistance as party primaries approached.” The attempts, however, were thwarted because Col. Dikio saw no sense in handing out money to politicians through the Amnesty Office.
“The same effects were amplified shortly after the primary elections, but the Interim Administrator’s response was unchanged, even after several interventions from respected individuals seeking positive support for Senator Urhogbide.”
“As a result, we urge Senator Urhogbide to proceed with caution and not blame the Amnesty coordinator for his failure in the last senatorial primary in Edo State.”
“The Presidential Amnesty Program is not an ATM where politicians can replenish their coffers after failing to achieve their goals.”
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