No Amnesty programme for Niger Delta Avengers, other militants - Boroh

No Amnesty programme for Niger Delta Avengers, other militants - Boroh

 The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta ,(retired) Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, has said that the Federal Government has no plan to enrol more militants into the programme.

Boroh, who is also the Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme, disclosed this when stakeholders of the programme from the Niger Delta region paid him a courtesy visit on Friday September 2, 2016 in Abuja.

He noted that the mandate of the programme under his care was to reintegrate  30,000 ex-agitators captured in the amnesty programme and cannot go beyond the limit to bring in more agitators into the programme.

He also confirmed that the Federal Government had commenced dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers through the dialogue committee with a view to halting the lingering hostility and bombing of oil facilities in the region.

Boroh, who disclosed this on a television programme/   .

“Amnesty programme worldwide has a limit because it is a master piece strategy to resolve militancy. When that of Nigeria was established in 2009, it was supposed to exist for a particular time.

“I do not intend to bring in more into the programme because that is not my mandate. My mandate is to reintegrate 30,000 ex-agitators into the programme that are already in the programme.

" But this number is bloated because of input from communities affected during the conflicts, government is also taking care of them. Some of them are undergoing skills acquisition and training.

“I do not think that the Federal Government is going to have another amnesty programme, it is very expensive and presently, our economy is not in the right status. So, it should not be a permanent programme.

 “Let us think of how to create jobs and develop the country. It is better to work than think of a programme that will give you a stipend every month,” Boroh said

According to him, the success of the Programme has swelled the ranks of thousands of armed youths seeking to lay down their arms and lead normal lives.

He said its office will collaborate with the Bioresources Development Agency Odi, to equipped with tools and research mechanism needed to develop the youths of the region.

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Ealier, Timi Ogoriba who led the delegation, said they were at the Ammnesty Office to discuss ways to restore peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.

Ogoriba said as part of measures to improve security, geared towards sustainable reintegration of the beneficiaries of the programme, he called on the nine Niger Delta governors to assist integrate the already trained youths through sustainable human capacity development and job opportunities.