PAP: IYC chieftain, Akiefa, set for counter protest against Otuaro's blackmailers 

By Ezekiel Kagbala 

The Vice President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Chief (Comrade) Frank Akiefa has announced plan to organize a counter-protest against those he described as "unrepentant criminals masquerading as Ex-Agitators".

He made the announcement in a signed statement made available to journalists in Warri on Saturday in which he pointedly accused the purported Ex-agitators of exploiting their past struggles for personal gain.

Akiefa's statement was coming in response to the much-touted planned protests against the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, by some aggrieved agitators.

While labelling the organisers of the planned protest against the PAP's Administrator as "illegitimate groups that threaten the peace and stability of the Niger Delta region", Akiefa posited that "they are only interested in their selfish agenda".

He appealed to well-meaning Niger Delta youths to "join in the patriotic fight against the individuals who seek to derail the progress of the Presidential Amnesty Programme".

Akiefa's statement partly reads, "These individuals are not representing the interests of the Niger Delta people; they are only interested in their selfish agenda.

"We will mobilize our members and allies to stand in solidarity with Dr. Otuaro and the legitimate goals of the Amnesty Programme.

"Stakeholders in the region are solidly in support of Dennis Otuaro in his plans to expand the Amnesty Programme to accommodate impacted communities and this is a vital reason for an upward review of the Amnesty Programme and its budget, not to increase stipends or to channel its resources to enrich few individuals. 

"We are calling on all well-meaning Niger Delta youths to join us in this fight against those who seek to derail our progress in the Presidential Amnesty Programme".