A forum of former Niger Delta militants has accused some of their counterparts of scheming to undermine the Presidential Amnesty Programme, saying those behind the plot had perfected plans to depose the programme’s leader Dennis Otuaro.

In a recent statement jointly signed by Chief (General) Otegha Ayebi (The Last Don), General Benjamin Ekeremor ( The Opu Abadi) and General Adowei Binaebi, the group accused Kingsley Kuku, Boyloaf and Shoot-At-Sight of exhibiting desperation in their quest to derail the programme.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Mr Otuaro in May to lead the programme after the sacking of the interim administrator Barry Ndiomu. 

While several civil society organisations commended the appointment of Mr Otuaro, some groups led by Messrs Kuku and Ebikabowei Victor-Ben (Boyloaf) sought to truncate the appointment.

 “The appointment of Dennis Otuaro as Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme rocked the existential monolith of disquieting revisionism and accepted attitudes represented by Messrs Kingsley Kuku, Ebokabowei Victor-Ben (Boyloaf), and Bibopri Ajube (Shoot-at-Sight), who unfortunately do not understand the mandate and stewardship of the Presidential Amnesty Programme ”

“These individuals, imaged in quasi literal term as pale dots continue to suffer split in their personalities, easily forgot that they were part of the league of night soil men who had mistaken the Amnesty program as opportunity to expand their vagrancy and criminal misappropriation of Amnesty Funds for their personal gains, and who in their frustration and resigned tone of fatalists and in the manner of mysterious breed of dogs, mews like cats as dogs, and as much like foxes as cats, are in an uninspiring mission, to throw spittle on the renewed Hope agenda that is at the core of the Administrative philosophy of Dr Dennis Otuaro, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than the isolated chicanery and divisive cynicism of these men to seek to distract the noteworthy inroads the present Amnesty program leadership has made to the hearts and minds of the impacted community of former agitators. 

“It underscores their poverty of character and irresponsibility to draw themselves into a scorch earth battle, with the present leadership of the Amnesty program for denying them the free funding they have become accustomed to,” the group said in the statement sent to Peoples Gazette. 

Messrs Kuku and Boyloaf could not be reached for comment. But one of their allies told The Gazette the allegations should be dismissed. 

“Their claim that we didn’t want the programme or its leader to succeed should not be taken seriously,” Johnny Michael said by telephone from Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta. “We just refused to leave anything to chances.” He declined to elaborate.

The programme itself has been a regular subject of controversy, often financially tinged, since former President Umar Yar’Adua established it to address the militancy and economic sabotage that bedevilled the oil-rich region for years.