READ Ex-Militant Leaders Reaction To Boroh‬’s Appointment As Amnesty Programme Boss

Former leaders of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) have hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment of retired Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, as the coordinator, Amnesty Programme and special adviser on Niger Delta to the president.
Reacting to the appointment on Wednesday, July 29, the ex-MEND leaders, under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace, and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI)‎, said though the appointment was delayed, it is welcomed and commendable, Sahara Reporters reports.
“We welcomed the news of the appointment with happiness. It is more gratifying to know that the new appointee is from the region and from Bayelsa State,” the ex-MEND leaders said.
They added that the appointment would resolve the concern raised by the people of the Niger Delta region over the hitches in the amnesty program and payment of outstanding allowances and scholarship fees.
In his reaction, the spokesman of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr Eric Omare, who spoke to NAN, commended the president for responding to the plight of the Niger Delta people.
According to him, it goes to show that present administration was sensitive to the aspirations of the region.
He therefore called on Boroh to take steps in ensuring the outstanding tuition fees and allowances of beneficiaries, especially those studying abroad are paid.
Also speaking, the Niger Delta Coordinator of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samuel Ayadi applauded Boroh’s appointment.
He called on him to look into the problems of the Niger Delta region, especially the many pending oil spill compensations.
President Muhammadu Buhari was commended for appointing on Tuesday Brigadier-General Paul T. Boroh (rtd.) as the Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme for former Niger Delta militants.
The former coordinator of the amnesty programme, Kingsley Kuku, also commended the president for appointing Boroh as his successor.
On learning of the new appointment, Kuku,who spoke from his hospital in America described Boroh as a seasoned administrator and soldier, for the post, hailing the president for not entrusting the office in the hands of a politician.
Since Buhari took over power on May 29, the Niger Delta people have been calling on him to look into their plight. The ex-militants, who study abroad under the scholarship programme of the federal government amnesty initiative, had lamented their unpaid allowances and called on the government to address the problem.
Chief Edwin Clark had also urged the president to take the Niger-Delta amnesty programme seriously as it has a way of affecting the nation.