October 31, (THEWILL) – A group, under the aegis of Transparency in Petroleum Exploration and Development Initiative (TIPEDI), has advised the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Gen. Barry Ndiomu, to remain focused on the national assignment that has been given to him, in order to justify the confidence reposed in him by Mr President, who appointed him to the Office.
The Executive Director, International Monitoring, Transparency In Petroleum Exploration and Development Initiative (TIPEDI), an Oil & Gas Industry NGO, Mr Igho Derek, who stated this in a Press Statement, issued in London, UK, said, “We say this because it is our belief that all the frivolous and baseless accusations being made against Gen. Barry Ndiomu so soon after his assumption of office, are designed to distract his attention from the work on hand, knowing full well that he has a very short window within which to deliver on the mandate.”
Mr Igho Derek, who is a past President of the South-South Peoples Assembly (SSPA) UK & Northern Ireland, disclosed that based on long term tracking of the activities of some of those making the allegations against the PAP Interim Administrator, it is obvious their motive is driven more out of selfish desires than for the collective good of the people of the oil producing areas.
“What is particularly worrisome is the fact that it is always one set of people that have been found to serially antagonise and hound past Coordinators of the Amnesty Office once they perceive their interests to be threatened”, he said. Adding that “this situation is totally unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.”
TIPEDI, therefore, calls on the political and community leaders in the Niger Delta area, as well as the heads of the various groups of ex-agitators, who feel otherwise about the winding down of the Amnesty Program, to apply pressure on the Federal Government to continue with the programme, instead of allowing few elements to vent their frustrations on Gen. Ndiomu.
We believe that a man of Gen. Barry Ndiomu’s character and standing, both in the military — where he served meritoriously and rose to the peak of his career, and in his civilian life since retiring from the Army, should be celebrated and encouraged to participate in public service, in order to deploy his vast experiences to the benefit of the Niger Delta people and the nation that he loves dearly, instead of being antagonised and vilified unjustly.
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