Adelani Adepegba
A Niger Delta ex-militant leader, Ebikamowei Victor Ben, alias Boyloaf, has warned politicians not to interfere in the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
Boyloaf, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, described the programme as a security package aimed at bringing about peace and stability in the Niger Delta.

The former militant leader said he was concerned about moves being made by some politicians to destabilise the gains of the present leadership of the programme.He said that any move by politicians to hijack the amnesty programme from the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Gen. Paul Boroh, would lead to another round of crisis in the region.
According to him, such people, who want to destablise the programme, see the office as their birthright from where they must derive maximum pecuniary gains.
Boyloaf said, “We are satisfied that Boroh is working closely with the main actors to bring about the needed peace and reintegration in the Niger Delta. We hereby warn against any attempt by politicians to turn the programme into a centre for settlement and political gains. Let the politicians look elsewhere for benefits.
“Anything that distracts from the original concept of using the amnesty office to cater for those who surrendered arms and accepted amnesty by promptly paying them their stipends and empowering them to stand on their own, would trigger new lease of crisis, which we don’t want.
“We demand that all peace-loving Nigerians should join hands with the SA on Niger Delta to ensure the success of the amnesty programme to bring about the needed peace, unity and stability in the region,” Boyloaf pleaded.