The
group’s spokesperson, Commander Ebong Friday, said that the state government
had neglected its members since the time they dropped their arms in the Federal
Government Amnesty Programme to pursue peace.
Friday
stated this in Eket, Eket Local Government Area of the state at a meeting with
his members on Friday.
He
stated that the group had given the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel
one week ultimatum to empower his members in the youth empowerment programme or
risk dire consequences.
“It
is very unfortunate that the state government is taking us for granted. We
dropped our arms in the course of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and chose
to embrace peace.
“The Akwa Ibom State Government called for
amnesty and we surrendered our arms with an agreement that they would train us
and integrate us.
“After
we voluntarily dropped our arms to embrace peace so that we could achieve what they
had promised us, they turned their backs on us,” he lamented.
Friday
said that about 950 members of the group were yet to be integrated and
documented in the Federal Government amnesty programmes. He stated that they
went to Obubra for training and came back to the state but that the state
government had yet to sort them out.
Culled from Punch newspaper
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