The umbrella body of youths in the Niger Delta, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), has decried the slow response of the newly appointed Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, General Paul Boroh, to the deplorable condition of beneficiaries of the amnesty program in foreign educational institutions two weeks after assumption of office.
The umbrella body of youths in the Niger Delta, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), has decried the slow response of the newly appointed Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, General Paul Boroh, to the deplorable condition of beneficiaries of the amnesty program in foreign educational institutions two weeks after assumption of office.
In a statement, IYC member Eric Omare said the untold hardship brought about delay in payments to amnesty beneficiaries still lingers. "The IYC had expected that upon assumption of office, General Boroh would take urgent and drastic steps to address the condition of students in foreign institutions who are subjected to untold hardship and harassment from the institutions and countries where they are studying. However, we are amazed to note that two weeks after resumption of office, nothing has been done to address the situation of foreign students.”
“The IYC leadership, parents and other leaders in the Niger Delta region are still under intense pressure from the foreign students under the amnesty program,” he continued. “We strongly believe that irrespective of the verification exercise going on in the amnesty office, something urgent ought to have been done to address the plight of the foreign students. In our view, the foreign students are much easier to verify through the respective institutions where they are studying."
Mr. Omare also called on General Boroh “to immediately reach out to the institutions where these students are studying to assure them of the federal government’s commitment to pay the outstanding tuition fees of the students.”