A former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has said N5.3 billion is still with the Amnesty Programme Office thereby called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently appoint someone into the office for the management of the fund.
Clark, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said non-appointment for the replacement of Chairman of the Amnesty Programme in the last regime, Kingsley Kuku was causing ripples in the Niger Delta region.
He added that he had received several delegates from the region on the issue, but that he had pleaded with to them to remain calm and continue to maintain the peace clearly stating that it would be wrong to leave the amnesty programme without a leadership.
He said as of now, he needed to bring to the attention of the President of what he described as the ‘imminent danger facing the amnesty programme’ adding that it would be wrong not to carry the region along in the scheme of things by the Buhari administration.
“I wish to bring to the attention of Mr. President the imminent danger facing the amnesty programme.
“The former Chairman of Amnesty Programme and Adviser to Mr. President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingley Kuku, has since vacated his office as a result of change of government, but unfortunately, he has not been replaced by an appointee even in acting capacity by Mr. President, and as a result, the whole programme for now is without leadership, and no one has the authority to operate the account of the Amnesty programme.
“I have received series of delegates from our people on the same matter and I have appealed to them to remain calm and continue to maintain the peace,” he said.
Clark further said there had been series of demonstration by youths and mothers as a result of dismissal of 13 ex-militant youths being trained as pilots by the Lufthansa Airlines Training School in Frankfurt, German.
The trainees claimed that they were being deprived of their training and sent packing by their various institutions in South Africa, Russia, Ukraine and other countries in Europe, due to the failure of the Federal Government to pay the Amnesty Training Fees and scholarship grants.
Clark said that it was unfortunate that this happened, not because of lack of fund, but because of who to disburse it.
“From my investigation, I’m reliably informed that lack of funds is not the problem, but the authority to operate the account. I’m also reliably informed that there is an amount of N5.3bn left for the execution of the Amnesty programme,” he added.
