Engage Us In Military Or Other Paramilitary Agencies: Bobo Advises FG

 

Tonye Bobo an Ex-agitator and a  Stakeholder in the Niger Delta struggle, has called on the Federal Government to engage them in the military and other government Agencies where they can be gainfully employed disclosing that for now, they are just whiling away.

Speaking to New  Telegraph on Friday, Bobo noted  that engaging them fully will serve as part of integration of the into the society stating that  training them without engaging them was just a waste of time and resources.

 Tonye Bobo who was  the former chairman of phase three ex agitators also asked  the federal government  to increase their monthly stipends form N65,000 to N150,000 disclosing that with the present realities on ground, the current stipend can't do anything for anybody.

 Commending the  appointment of new Administrator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Dr. Dennis Otuaro,  he said  that ex agitators cannot be   trained and left to  be redundant.

Tonye Bobo explained "The reason for training  the ex-agittaors is to re-integrate them back into the society and that has not been completed. That is why the Ex-agitators are still complaining. You cannot train somebody and abandon him  without anything after  he has gotten the skills  for more than seven or eight years.

"If the re-integration phase is having challenges, while they are trying to fixe it, let them add to the monthly stipend of sixty five thousand naira (N65,000) to one hundred and fifty thousand naira ( N150,000) and that will go a long way to solve some our problems because the sixty five thousand naira is no longer attainable.

Calling on those calling for removal of the new interim administrator  Dennis Otuaro, Bobo advised that it is too early to judge the man's administration adding that he  has the interest of the people of Niger Delta at heart. 

Talking about those calling for his removal,  Niger Delta people are too quick to judge. "If it doesn't go your way means it must not go another person's way. We want to call on the politicians to allow the  PAP office to run the way it should".

" They hijacked the scholarships meant for the ex-agitators. We have people from different regions working in the Amnesty office. He should sanitize the system in  such a way that it is only the beneficiaries of the programme  that will be getting their allowance as at when due".

"The man is starting on a right  part  by identifying the real ex-agitators.  He  is  not even up to one  hundred days in office, we are  beginning to see changes in the system. They should give peace a chance and allow the man to focus in giving PAP the right direction".

Talking on the Presidential Amnesty Programme Cooperative which was initiated by the last interim administrator, he said that Otuaro he will continue from where his predecessor stopped adding that already about one thousand  people(1000) have benefited from the scheme. 

He said "I can categorically tell you that we have returned N1.4 billion back to the presidential amnesty office and all documents relating to our transactions have also been submitted".

Admitting that there is actually challenges on the training, he said there is Data challenge  stating that with time, everything will be fine.

Also  contributing, the national vice chairman of third phase of the presidential amnesty programme, Alhaji Letugbene, said they believe in the leadership of the newly appointed Administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro. adding that  he was part of the struggle.

He also confirmed that  the office was hijacked by  politicians in the time past stating that   because they don't have access any more, that  is the reason  why they are fighting against the course.

 " If they want Ijaw Nation to move forward, they should support the newly apointed Administrator,  to succeed.