TheCable

Some delegates of the ‘third phase’ of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), have commended the initiatives of the current PAP leadership, especially the cooperative scheme and the strategic coordination of the scholarship scheme.

At an interactive meeting with stakeholders over the weekend in Benin, Edo State, the delegates noted that the communication style of Barry Ndiomu, PAP interim administrator, has arrested brewing tensions in the region.

Elaye Slaboh, national president of the PAP third phase leaders,  who made these remarks at the meeting, expressed happiness with the current PAP administration.

“We are very happy with the current administration, with the way and manner he is handling the programme, if he continues like this, then the best is yet to come”.

While urging the PAP leadership to capture more third phase delegates in the cooperative and scholarship schemes, he charged the third phase delegates to give “solidarity support” to Ndiomu “to provoke him to do more” for them.

Earlier the PAP Interim Administrator represented by Wilfred Musa, head of reintegration in the amnesty office, noted that the whole essence of the interactive meeting was to bring members of the third phase up to speed with the vision and mission of the current PAP leadership.

He called for an overhaul of questionable attitudes among delegates, stating that, “a good number of our delegates can not hold jobs because of their attitudes”.

The PAP leadership expressed worry over poor performance of delegates under its scholarship scheme across various higher institutions of learning, stating that rather than engaging in serious reading culture, they are engaged in frivolous petitions against the PAP leadership.

Ndiomu frowned at the shoddy performance of some delegates in their recent examinations, where some of them were dropped.

To raise the standards, he said “PAP has resolved to prioritise admission for delegates into any university of their choice, but it will no longer be business as usual. The PAP cannot be involved in wasteful venture with poor standards. We will only support those who are willing to be trained within the amnesty programme”.

He charged the third phase leaders to take up the responsibility of projecting the workings of the amnesty programme in their leadership domains.

Ndiomu further commended the PAP delegates for maintaining high level of decorum especially at various interactive meetings held in Rivers, Calabar, and Abuja. He urged them to shun divisive tendencies capable of inciting disunity, adding that as leaders, they should rise up and shut down side talks, frivolous petitions of bringing down the amnesty programme set out to ensure empowerment for the Niger Delta region.