MEND to Buhari: Appoint Ikwang to head Presidential Amnesty Committee

NEDU MARK, Yenagoa

The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), has called on President Muhammudu Buhari to appoint Dr Ferdinand Ikwang as the new Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Committee to replace Kingsley Kuku.

Kuku worked as the Presidential Special Adviser on Amnesty project under former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Vice Chairman, MEND, Rivers State Chapter, Hon Prince Hornby,  who spoke to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, Tuesday, called on President Buhari to convene a stakeholder meeting with Phase 1 ex militant leaders in the region to fashion ways forward for socio economy growth of the nation.

Hornby also appealed to President Buhari to ‘kindly release the payment of May allowances and stipends for the ex agitators and those undergoing various skills acquisition programmes abroad,’ noting that the delay in the appointment of new Amnesty Committee chairman is hampering the payment of school fees for the ex agitators abroad and their families.

The leader who also doubles as President, Niger Delta ex-Agitators Forum, advised Buhari not to terminate the pipeline surveillance contracts by ex agitators, saying that the ex warlords understand the terrains and the location of the various pipeline channels than the military.

According to MEND, “pipeline surveillance protection is not the job of the military, but the community youths who know the terrain and the creeks”

He insisted that the delay in the appointment of a new Committee Chairman may cause the breakdown of law and order in the region.

“Buhari should not blame the ex agitators if the aggrieved boys rupture pipelines or cause the breakdown of law and order because they are angry and hungry, they have not received their May, 2015 stipends from the Federal Government,” the MEND chieftain said.

According to MEND, “over 10,000 ex agitators and their foot soldiers benefit from these monthly stipends from the federal government as a means of livelihood.”

On the choice of Dr. Ikwang, MEND leader said, the candidate is a seasoned technocrat, former head of demobilization committee and a powerful insider in the Niger Delta struggle.