The Youth Wing of the pan- Urhobo Socio-cultural organisation, Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, has reacted to the alleged threats to the lives of leaders of Phase 2 Amnesty Programme by the Interim Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Mr. Barry Ndiomu, and some persons described as his attack dogs.
This was made known in a statement issued to journalists over the weekend by the group’s Public Relations Officer, Lawson Esosuakpo Aboyi, in Ughelli, Delta state, South-South Nigeria.
The group condemned in strong terms the alleged witch-hunt against ex-militant leaders of Urhobo extraction who are supposed beneficiaries of the PAP.
The statement called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, call the leadership of the PAP to order lest it plunges the region into avoidable crisis in his ethnic supremacy agenda.
The group appealed to the president to warn the coordinator of the PAP against what it described as tribal extremism in the discharge of his duties which are clearly stated in the act establishing the office adding that, to do otherwise is to steer the hornets’ nest.
Pointedly, the UPU told Mr. Ndiomu to tread softly and carry every ethnic group in the Niger Delta region along in the affairs of PAP rather than balkanising and dividing the people sharply along ethnic lines.
He noted that the programme is not the birthright of any tribe in the Niger Delta region. It asked the coordinator to stop his poor management attitude towards other ethnic groups in the programme.
The Urhobo nation, UPU said, “we value the peaceful co-existence and for this current peace to be sustained in the region, there must be mutual respect amongst all the nationalities to promote the letter and philosophy of brotherhood and love that existed between the Urhobo, Ijaw and other nations in the region.”
The group alleged that leaders of Urhobos in the amnesty phase 2 programme are being subjected to morbid threats, harrassment, intimidation for exercising their rights to freedom of expression.
The youth group specifically noted that Mr. Ndiomu had allegedly vowed to make a scapegoat out of ‘General’ Eshanekpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro who, sources close to him, said, “Ndiomu boasted to deal decisively with Israel. We are yet to know how and when ‘General’ Akpodoro offended Ndiomu to warrant such reckless threats to his life.”
The union noted that Akpodoro was singled out for daring to call for transparency and accountability in the management of the programme and also stood against Ndiomu perpetuating himself in the office.
“For daring to call on the President to sack Ndiomu, in his own judgement, Akpodoro must be dealt with. ‘General’ Eshanekpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro is a foremost leader of the Phase 2 Amnesty Programme and leader of Emomoemi camp
“Mr President sir, we are worried that the PAP has been reduced to the whims and caprices of a certain ethnic nationality in the Niger Delta region.
“There’s a grand conspiracy against various Urhobo leaders in the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP Phase 2 weaponsing malicoius and barefooted and trumped up allegations against him which is akin to calling dog a bad name for it to be hanged.
“Our vociferous Akpodoro has been for long time resisting intimidation and harrassment from the coordinator and his henchmen as he is perceived to be a pro Urhobo interest in the amnesty programme.
“This is the reason IYC was unleashed on him threatening to let loose the hell if a replacement for Ndiomu was done from another ethnic group. They have resorted to blackmail against our own but the truth remains that Ndiomu should render account of his stewardship to the good people of the Niger Delta region,” the statement reads in part.
“The Urhobos in the Niger Delta are not cowards. So we are appealing to Mr President to call Ndiomu to order to desist from witch-hunting our illustrious sons.
“Also, we are still insisting that the Urhobo nation is an equal stakeholder in the Niger Delta region, a major oil and gas producing area and has not been given a commensurate appointment due to them from the huge economic resources from Urhoboland.
“It will be unfair and unjust if the Urhobos who are the largest oil and gas producer and the largest homogeneous entity in Delta state is denied the right to be appointed Coordinator by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“No reason is enough to deny our own appointment as the coordinator of the Amnesty Programme.” The Urhobo umbrella body, stated while calling on the National Securirty Adviser to the President to immediately commence the process of sacking Ndiomu and appoint an Urhobo man to replace him.
