By Clinton Ogaga, Warri
Some youths in the Niger Delta region have called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to quickly sack the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Gen Barry Ndiomu.
The youths who are members of the Ijaw Youth Liberation (IYL) noted that Gen Ndiomu has served his term and should be replaced to prevent a crisis in the region.
The youths also demanded a proper investigation into the controversial PAP Cooperative Scheme carried out under the interim administrator over alleged corrupt practices.
In a statement on Saturday in Warri by Ebiakpo Godswill, the Convener, and Darius ThankGod, Secretary of the group, the IYL expressed concern over the monthly N600m allegedly used to fund the PAP Cooperative Scheme.
The youths further challenged the Interim Administrator to publish the names of persons benefiting from the Scheme.
“President Tinubu Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu should probe the funds being diverted to the PAP Cooperative Scheme. The PAP Re-Integration Unit should be closely monitored and investigated as well,” the statement said.
The group blamed former President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Ndiomu as Interim Administrator of PAP, who it said has refused to pay for contracts awarded by his predecessors claiming they were fictitious contracts.
It further alleged that Ndiomu was paying contractors that were close to him and claimed that contractors who were not paid were committing suicide and their properties were being taken over by banks due to loans incurred from the financial institutions.
“Gen Barry Ndiomu has failed to understand that government is a continuum. He should pay for contracts awarded and executed by contractors before he took over the office. President Bola Tinubu is paying contracts and projects executed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. We expect Ndiomu to do the same to pay contractors who have executed their jobs”
“Ndiomu claims there is no money to pay contractors. But his predecessors were paying contractors from the same allocation. More so, it has come to our knowledge that there is a written memo to move contractors’ brown files containing contracts previously awarded and executed on legal agreement with the federal government to unknown locations to be burnt and after that claims that the files are missing,” the group alleged.
