Date Published: 10/08/09
Lagos AC welcomes amnesty, warns of insincerity in execution
The Lagos State of the Action Congress has cautioned the Federal Government to approach the present amnesty deal with all sincerity as the country cannot afford to undergo another round of crisis involving militants in the Niger Delta. The party warned that any attempt to play games with the amnesty deal will land the country in another stretch of needless crisis, which should be avoided.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the party’s Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the AC, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that the amnesty deal must be seen as a very urgent imperative for the promotion of peace and stability in our crisis-ridden country. It urged all parties to work hard to make the amnesty work for the greater good of the country.
“While we notice that the amnesty had been met with great skepticism in the past, we state that we are delighted that the armed groups in the Niger Delta are giving it a chance to succeed. We are delighted by the prospect of peace once again, in the troubled Niger Delta and feel that is the only way the country can record some respite from the troubled region is for all parties to the amnesty to invest the entire deal with a high level of sincerity so it can work.
“We call on the federal government to put everything in place to ensure that the repentant militants are rehabilitated and the growth of the Niger Delta region is given an accelerated attention so as to convince the people of the region that they are not being taken for a ride. We warn that Nigeria is only steps away from the same crisis we all are trying to walk away from and as such a high level of sincerity and commitment is needed to make the amnesty deal work. We want to let the federal government know that the bulk of the responsibility lies on them to ensure that the amnesty deal works. We therefore ask the federal government to commence a quick and far reaching reconstruction of the entire Niger Delta region and indeed the oil producing areas to show their sincerity to the amnesty package.
“Lagos AC believes that the creation of employment for the repentant militants is the best way to guard against their further taking of arms. We therefore charge the federal government to go beyond mere promises and rhetoric to create sustainable jobs for those that have laid down their arms. This we believe will involve creativity on the part of the federal government and all stakeholders. We believe that is the best possible to get the repentant youths meaningfully engaged.
“We want to state that our present position is informed by the readiness of the militant groups to embrace the present amnesty deal. This does not in any way remove our skepticism of the source of the arms being surrendered as well as their quality. We restate our hope that the entire arm surrender deal is not a sham as well as another cover to buy and stockpile arms for PDP’s roguish electoral intents. In the days ahead, we will be eagerly watching to note if this base consideration is behind the present amnesty deal. We warn that should this be the case, the country will certainly launch into a far deadlier situation than the one it is presently trying to meander from”.
Joe Igbokwe.
Publicity Secretary,
Lagos AC.
