Youths from the Bayelsa State All Progressives Congress (APC) have kicked against what they described as the partisanship of the Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Maj.-Gen. Barry Ndiomu (retd) ahead of the November 11 state’s governorship election.
The party stakeholders under the auspices of the Bayelsa APC Integrity Forum (BAIF) called for the immediate removal, prosecution and arrest of Ndiomu for gross abuse of his office.
The youths specifically accused the amnesty boss of deploying his office to work for the reelection of the Bayelsa Governor and Peoples Democratic Party Candidate, Douye Diri.
The Chairman of the forum, Ebiye Appah, in a statement on Wednesday, said Ndiomu was acting like an aide to Diri instead of focusing on his primary responsibility of promoting the peace in the Niger Delta.
Appah wondered how an official and confidential correspondence between the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Amnesty Office was deliberately leaked to the Bayelsa State Government House and other PDP members in the state.
He accused Ndiomu of deliberately lying and mischievously twisting the facts about the amnesty status of the APC deputy governorship candidate, Joshua Macaiver, and subsequently leaking his reply to the SGF’s inquiries to members of the public.
“Ndiomu’s failed action is targeted at casting aspersion to the Sylva/Maicaver governorship ticket to cause tension in APC and give undue advantage to his friend, Diri and his party, the PDP”, Adomokeme said.
He challenged Ndiomu to deny supporting the Presidential Candidate of the PDP in the last election, Alh. Atiku Abubakar, and empowering card-carrying members of the PDP in his anti-APC campaign in Bayelsa and Niger Delta.
Appah said: “We wonder also why confidential mail communication between his office and the office of the Secretary to the Government of The Federation would be deliberately leaked and made subject of pedestrian deliberations.
“We are not concerned about his obvious PDP ties and the fact he is a kinsman to former Governor Dickson, our only concern is why he has consistently converted the Amnesty Programme to an anti-APC apparatus which is made more evident in his overwhelming empowerment of PDP card-carriers and his recent and painful support of H.E Atiku Abubakar during the last presidential elections.
“The amnesty office is, fundamentally, to keep peace in the Niger Delta region and its development. The institution is not to further divide or glean partisan advantages.
“But beyond that, we urge the Department of State Security (DSS) to investigate leakages in communication between government agencies for such acts are as treasonable as they are worrying security breaches.
“We are calling for the immediate removal, prosecution and arrest of Ndiomu for leaking official government communication and for turning the noble PAP to a mere empowerment scheme of the PDP.
“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the innovative pathways to progress he has unveiled since becoming President, we are certain our dear nation is on the pathway of sustained progress”. END.