The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has changed his earlier plan to scrap the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The Interim Administrator, PAP, Maj-Gen Barry Ndiomu on Saturday confirmed the development.
Ndiomu, in a statement issued by PAP’s Media Consultant, Donu Kogbara, thanked the federal government for listening when he mentioned that critical stakeholders across the region were strongly opposed to the winding down of the PAP.
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The statement said:
“The Federal Government has heard the concerns of Niger Delta people and, with our best interests at heart, has decided to shelve an unwanted termination agenda and transform PAP into a more sanitized, transparent, efficient, robust and sustainable entity.
“The decision was taken after the feelings of stakeholders and people of the region were communicated to the government and proves that the Buhari’s administration will not do anything to jeopardize the peace in the Niger Delta.
“We call on all stakeholders to sustain the peace in the region and help the new administration reform, refocus and reposition the programme for optimum performance.”
The PAP boss added that all responsible stakeholders nevertheless support change and share his view that the programme needs to be totally refocused and restructured.
Ndiomu said the federal government’s willingness to retrace its steps demonstrated the sensitivity of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to issues affecting the Niger Delta.
Earlier, it was reported at there will be a total closure of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) within six months.
It was also gathered that Ndiomu was mandated to close the programme and scrap the amnesty office on or before April 2023.
Meanwhile, Ndiomu said the government weighed the arguments presented to them, based on their merits, and decided to suspend the planned shutdown.
