Niger Delta: Ex-agitators Demand N5m Each To Commence Mechanized Cassava Farms After Training
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In Niger Delta, ex-agitators and beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) who were trained at the Agro-Allied Farms Limited at Omoku in Rivers State have demanded a minimum of five million naira (N5 million) each from the PAP office in Abuja to enable them set up their mechanized farms in order to continue their normal life in line with the reintegration policy of PAP as conceptualized by the Federal Government.
The ex-warlords in an open letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, General Barry Ndiomu (Rtd) titled, ‘Urgent Need To Save Our Souls’ noted that the cry against the untoward plan became paramount and imperative because of the negative twist and turns which have bambuzooled them beyond their imagination.
This was contained in the open letter jointly signed by Orughani Godswill Ethoza, Mormos Wilberforce, Omoko Vincent, Godwin London, lfeanyi Chukwu Nwabunor and Nzeka lfeanyi made available to The Street Reporters Newspaper reads in part: “We the PAP delegates of Krisdera Agro-Allied Farms Limited Omoku Rivers State, humbly write to apprise PresÃdent Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and the Presidential Amnesty Program ( PAP) office under the leadership of the Interim Administrator, Gen. Barry Ndiomu (Rtd) to convey our sincere appreciation to the PAP offÃce for sending us to Krisdera Farm Limited for training in mechanized farming under cassava cultivation and processing module.”
The letter further added, “we also want to use the auspicious moment of this media briefing to send a reminder notice to the PAP offÃce in particular that we have undergone the training but now waiting for the good office of General Barry Ndiomu (Rtd) the PAP Interim Administrator to release the five million naira minimum benchmark for each of us to kick start our own mechanized cassava planting and processing as encapsulated in the training details.
The ex-agitators explained in the statement that their training duration which (was) supposed to last for at least eight (8) months, was reduced to seven (7) months and also, the flood actually reduced the training time (duration) and even destroyed our properties.
The ex-agitators who maintained that they have no issues with the reduction of their training time (duration or period) which was due to unavoidable flood made a compassionate appeal that they have been thought both theoritical and practical aspect of Cassava Cultivation And Processing.
They pointed out that the PAP office should consider a good and reasonable amount of money, ranging from five (5) million naira and above for each delegate because the establishment of a Mechanized Farm will require an individual to either purchase several plots of land or lease plots of land, hiring of tractors, hiring of man power, purchasing of fertilizers and other chemicals etc for better Cassava cultivation and processing.
The ex-agitators also hinted the PAP office that they are aware that each delegate is entitled to a minimum five (5) Million Naira for empowerment after training which according to them is stated in the BLUE PRINT of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
The Group added saying: “We wish to appeal to the PAP office to look into this critically as doing so will help us and in turn, if we are all able to establish our farms in our various communities, it will help to boost food security which our amiable President Muhammadu Buhari is emphasizing and it will also help to reduce food scarcity in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large, and also help to reduce the rate of unemployment and crime in our region.
The ex-agitators lamented in their statement thus: “We strongly assert that after spending a total sum of three point two million naira (3.2million naira ) to train each PAP delegate on mechanized farming in Cassava Cultivation And Processing in Krisdera Agro-allied Limited Omoku, Rivers State, it is unrealistic and unfair for the PAP office to think of empowering us with Seven Hundred and Fifty thousand naira which a far cry from our expectation.
The group Which placed a demand notice stressed with emphasis saying: “The PAP office should empower us with nothing less than five (5) million naira only for each delegate that has undergone this training on mechanized farming in Cassava Cultivation And Processing in Krisdera Agro-Allied Limited Omoku, Rivers State, so that we can actually establish our mechanized farms in our various communities as originally proposed.”
The ex-warlords who expressed dismay over the twist and turns b of events said: “We are indeed perturbed to our bone marrow for the Amnesty office to send officials to our training centers to tell us that they want to empower us with Seven Hundred and Fifty thousand naira only and after the empowerment,our names will be delisted from the Presidential Amnesty program.”
The alarmed PAP Trainee Delegates unequivocally declared: “The above information from the PAP offÃce to to us to say the least is indeed provocative, annoying, barbaric and counter productive because this retrogressive idea to hold back the much needed funding of our farm projects will increase the rate of insecurity in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large.”
The Ex Warlord’s who are ready to be seamlessly reintegrated back into the larger society inline with the international best practice of Amnesty Programmes worldwide correctly pointed out that the path the PAP office is towing now by their proposal to slash the five Million (N5M) benchmark to seven hundred thousand naira only will adversely affect the economy of the nation because it is nothing but direct invitation to anarchy and avoidable heating of our polity.
The PAP delegates of Krisdera Agro Allied Farms Limited Omoku, Rivers State who emphasized the need to
maintain the prevailing peace in the Niger Delta said thus: “We are constrained to send this Save Our Souls message to the Federal Government of Nigeria led by PresÃdent Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), the Hon Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, other relevant Officers of Government, our elderstateman, PANDEF Leader and leader of South-South/Middle Belt Region, Chief Dr Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, Amnesty lnternational to look into this injustice,curruption and the marginalization of the people in Niger Delta region.
The Group in their summation asserted: “If nothing is done to stop this skewed policy summersault, in no distant time there will be a boomerang effect which is usually characterized by inconsistencies in policy implementation noting that these kind of diservice have cost Nigeria alot of
fortune in the time past and it goes along way to confirm the axiom which says Penny wise pounds foolish.
