Youths in the Niger Delta have cried out over the deviation of the mandate of the Amnesty interventionist project in the region to political patronage of the ruling elite. The youths lamented being neglected by the Amnesty office.
One of the youths in the Niger Delta, Churchill Amieye, an APC youth member from the South-South, protested that youths across the country have been reduced to irrelevance by the political elite in Nigeria. he protested that Nigerian youths are used for elections and abandoned after elections have been won by the political leaders.
According to Churchill Amieye: “It is no news that youths all around the country have been relegated to the background.
“As the engine room of organizations, structures and political movements, the youths deserve better. In politics, we do all the field work, which in turn produces victory or defeat; but when the spoils come, we are left to struggle for the crumbs.
“It is more painful when opportunities that we are more than qualified to handle are placed in the hands of those who fought against the system we stood for with our sweat and blood.”
The APC youth member from the South-South further declared in a statement: “APC youths in the South-South region are now a laughingstock. Against all odds, we stood for what we believed in and ensured that the party was victorious. What did we get in return? Nothing! We deserve to be treated better. This unfair treatment cuts across most agencies and bodies dealing with the South-South but we wish to bring the most glaring one to your attention.”
Churchill Amieye protested that “the Presidential Amnesty Office which was established to stabilize the Niger Delta region and is expected to engage youths of the region, including youths of our great party has failed in this.
“The appointment of a retired officer from the region was expected to bring a balance of Professionalism and Politics, bearing in mind the sensitive nature of that office. But the reverse is the case.
“Since the Interim Administrator assumed office, all party Faithfull working there have been relieved of their duties.”
The APC Youth also stated: “to worsen the issue the interim administrator immediately surrounded himself with known members of the opposition Party. A known APC member who was part of the team that set up the Amnesty Programme was relieved of his duties as the Head of Reintegration and replaced with a strong PDP supporter who was an appointee of the Bayelsa State Government and notoriously known for castigating the APC government.
“This is not only discouraging but is a slap on our faces. It is now obvious Col. Dikio is a PDP apologist. Even with the shocking revolution of the Interim Administrator’s PDP membership card; nothing has been done to resolve this political blunder.”
He stated that the engagement of a new Interim Administrator was meant to bring a new approach to achieving the objectives of the Programme, but it turned out to be worse. According to Churchill Amieye “one whole year into his administration, no new beneficiary has been trained or empowered. All we hear are stories. But monies meant to positively impact the region are used on irrelevant tours.
“The Amnesty Office isn’t the Niger Delta Ministry or the NDDC that needs to constantly interact with stakeholders of the region. The only interaction the Interim Administrator has to do, is with us, the beneficiaries of the Programme.
“That is obviously not on the agenda of that office. There is a clear indication that the inaction of the Amnesty boss is a deliberate plot to make the APC unpopular in the region.
“It is clear that most appointees of the President don’t walk in line with the party’s vision and mission. This shouldn’t be so. “The President shouldn’t teleguide the running of these agencies. He already has a lot on his table.
“Our request is simple and clear, appointments should be on merit, but should also comply with all the Political, Age and Gender based requirements to make our party remain a party that stands on truth, equity and fairness,” Churchill Amieye declared.