The Niger Delta Rights Assembly (NDRA) has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment of retired Maj.-Gen. Barry Ndiomu as the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP)

The group described the appointment of Ndiomu as a blessing to the Niger Delta region and the nation in general.

This is contain in a statement signed by the President of NDRA, Chief Israel Bokromo and made available to the press on Tuesday.

Bokromo expressed the group’s appreciation to the president for the appointment

“We thank President Buhari for overlooking primordial sentiments and self-serving lobbyists in his choice of Ndiomu, whom it said has brought sanity and order into the Programme

“We also want to thank also laud Ndiomu for rising to the occasion of tackling the challenges facing the Amnesty Programme.

“We recognise the pressure mounted on Buhari to discontinue the programme by persons who do not mean well for the nation and Niger Delta people in particular.

“The President did not only snub the lobbyists, he appointed Ndiomu, a man of proven military discipline and integrity.

“We wish to place on record that Ndiomu’s appointment is not misplaced. Since his arrival at the Amnesty office, he has allowed an audit of the Programme’s activities which has exposed several fraudulent activities.

“He brought a regime of reforms that has helped to block the leakages and conduits through which many criminal-minded persons have been profiting and stealing money meant for the genuine ex-militants,” Bokromo said.

According to him, the assembly commended the Buhari government for involving critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta in maintaining peace and ensuring security of oil and gas infrastructure as well as stemming the tide of stolen crude in the creeks.

He noted that the involvement of stakeholders like Mr Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo to secure oil and gas infrastructure in the creeks was a masterstroke that had significantly reduced the incidence of oil theft.

“The group noted that the culture of probity, accountability and transparency instituted by Ndiomu is yielding anticipated results, especially the exposure of monumental fraud bordering on flawed payment systems and contract inflation.

“The group listed some of the achievements recorded by Ndiomu to include, earning the confidence and support of Buhari and timely payment of monthly allocations.

“Another achievement is sustaining peace in the region leading to increased production of crude oil at an average of 1.67million barrels per day,

“Other achievements are the new policy initiatives on cooperative, completion of five vocational training centres and data sanitisation to verify genuine ex agitators, among others,” he said.

He further explained that barely six months, Ndiomu had saved the programme over N1.5 billion from inflated contracts.

Bokromo added that Ndiomu had effectively positioned the programme towards achieving its core mandate of addressing the needs of ex-militants rather than meeting the needs of a few emergency contractors who lack both competence and capacity.

He, however, urged the in-coming government to sustain the culture of probity and fiscal responsibility instituted by Ndiomu to stave off agitations in the future. (NAN)