Niger Delta ex-militants currently benefitting from the Presidential Amnesty Programme, (PAP) has issued a 7-day ultimatum to the federal government to pay the August stipends owed over 10,000 beneficiaries of the Programme.
The beneficiaries who claimed they have suffered sundry “unfair treatments” under the current PAP Cordinator, Col. Dixion Dikio threatened to storm the streets in protest should the government fail to accede to their request.
Speaking on behalf of the unpaid beneficiaries, the leader of Niger Delta Defence Corps, NDDC, John Egbe, Tuesday, in Bomadi, Delta State, lamented the failure of Dikio to approve the payment of August stipends to over ten thousand beneficiaries without explanation.
In Egbe’s words: “the amnesty office has paid our stipends for August but over ten thousand beneficiaries have not been paid for a reason best known to Dikio.
“We have experienced various unfair treatments under Dikio since his assumption of office, we will not take it easy this time around and we want our stipends paid within one week or else we will go out for a protest next week.”
He added:”Niger Delta is now a peaceful place but Dikio and his Special Adviser, Mr Alfred Kemepade, want to disturb the peace because of their secret deals. Since 2010, we’ve never experienced what we’re seeing under Dikio.
“Last year, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno set up a committee that verified everything in the amnesty office, but today Dikio decided to stop the payment of stipends to some beneficiaries.
“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and the NSA to send Mr Kemepade out of that office before it’s too late because he wants to set Niger Delta ablaze with his evil advice to Dikio”.
