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UDUAGHAN FAULTS CALL TO DISBAND ABBE’S PANEL ON AMNESTY
According to him, the committee has not completed its assignment as some people erroneously claimed. Some Niger-Delta leaders were recently reported to have called on the Federal Government to dissolve the Major-General Abbe-led committee on the grounds that it completed its assignment since 4 October when militants accepted amnesty and surrendered arms. While addressing ex-militants at Effurun, near Warri at a meeting convened by repentant ex-militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, the governor said the post- amnesty arrangement included rehabilitation and reintegration which the committee also had a responsibility to discharge. He said the committee, according to the announcement of President Umaru Yar’Adua and information from the meetings he had attended so far on the post-amnesty programme, was supposed to ensure that “our young ones are rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.” He said the ex-militants who could still go to school would be given the opportunity to go to school, adding that those who want to train as artisans will do so, while those that are employable would be employed. He said, “The committee, headed by Major-General Abbe, is supposed to manage this phase of how to get our youths ready, make them live a new life and empower them. So it is still doing its work.” On the construction of coastal roads, bridges, housing and provision of other infrastructures, Uduaghan said from his own findings, the various projects would be executed by the relevant ministries and parasatals, including the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Governor Uduaghan, who Tompolo described as “the governor that understands and knows how to manage matters more than any other governor in the Niger-Delta”, urged the militants to organise themselves and stop backbiting their leaders so as to speak to the government with one voice and bring down the benefits of the post-amnesty programme to the region. The Governor commended the ex-militants for accepting amnesty, saying that he was supposed to be in Abuja for the National Economic Council meeting but because of the importance of the meeting of the ex-militants, he took an excuse and stayed back in order to personally attend. He said it was easier to get militants to drop arms than to manage the success of the amnesty itself and pleaded with the ex-militants to exercise patience, as President Umaru Yar’Adua was not sleeping over the matter. According to him, the violent phase of the struggle was over but the issues that led to the struggle were still there and solving them is the phase that the government is at the moment. He said he was already hearing rumour that Tompolo had collected money from the government, saying that it was all lies, cooked up by the enemies to divide the ex-militants, and asked them not to fall for such cheap tricks. Uduaghan said since he came out publicly after accepting amnesty, Tompolo had never discussed any personal issue with him and at the meeting in Abuja with Mr. President, he (governor) was there and Tompolo never raised any personal issue with him. He, therefore, charged the militants to organise themselves and stop bandying rumour, as not all of them could attend meetings at Abuja and therefore, some people must represent them and come back to report what transpired. Those who attended such meeting, he said, should brief their people appropriately when they come back. The governor explained that the rehabilitation and reintegration parts of the post-amnesty programme were being overseen by the Minister of Defence, Major-General Godwin Abbe (rtd.), who is the chairman of the Presidential Panel on Amnesty and Disarmament of Militants, but, the infrastructure part would be handled by the various ministries and parasatals in-charge, including the Ministry of Niger-Delta and the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC. On the 10 per cent equity participation granted to host communities by the Federal Government, he said it was still on paper but the most important thing for now was for the people to think of how the oil producing communities would get the best from it. He also said that his administration would carry all ex-militants in its programme for them, whether leaders or followers, adding, “That was why I invited them to Asaba the other day, I can see John Togo, you were there, Ezekiel, I think we decided that everybody should be carried along according to our limit”.   
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