The Presidential Amnesty Office has appealed to leaders of former agitators in the Niger Delta to eschew comments that could heat up the polity.
Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Hon. Kingsley Kuku, in a press statement issued by the Head of Media and Communications, Mr Daniel Alabrah, made the appeal in the light of recent developments involving some of the top leaders of the former agitators in the Niger Delta.
He said the Amnesty Office views with serious concern comments credited to some of them as reported in the media in recent weeks.
“My appeal to the leaders of the former agitators is to be circumspect in their comments. They need to be cautious about what they say as it could convey a different meaning to different people and unnecessarily heat up the Niger Delta and the country at large. Such comments have the potential to inflame passion.
“I believe this is the time for them to close ranks and not be seen to be fighting themselves. I urge them to continue to utilise all the available channels of communicating their grievances to the government. Of course, they know that my office is always open to them,” the PAP chairman said.
Hon. Kuku, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, however added that the Amnesty Office wishes to clarify for the umpteenth time that the approved stipends for the former agitators are paid into their bank accounts at the end of every month and not through any of their former leaders.
“Let me emphasise that we do not pay the monthly stipend of these former agitators through their former leaders. Rather we do so through the individual bank account details that they gave to my office. This is an incontrovertible fact that can be verified from any of the banks we use.”
