Afenifere group threatens Abuja protest over alleged exclusion

By Boye Oyeyemi

A Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, The Afenifere Progressives, has threatened to stage a peaceful protest at the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) office in Abuja over the alleged marginalisation of oil-producing communities in Ondo State.

The group accused the programme of failing to provide communities in the state with fair access to its benefits, particularly scholarships and other empowerment opportunities available to oil-producing areas in the Niger Delta.

Its Coordinator, Michael Omotehinse, and Secretary, Modupe Adedayo, raised the concerns in a joint statement issued in Akure on Thursday, calling for transparency, fairness and equal representation in the administration of the programme.

The organisation argued that access to the programme’s opportunities should not be determined by ethnic or linguistic affiliation, insisting that all oil-producing communities deserved equal treatment, irrespective of whether they were Ijaw-speaking or not.

To address the alleged imbalance, the group said it would petition President Bola Tinubu, former Osun State Governor Bisi Akande, Afenifere leader Pius Akinyelure, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi II, the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders.

According to the organisation, the petition would seek a comprehensive review of the programme’s leadership structure, scholarship allocations, beneficiary records and representation of non-Ijaw-speaking communities. It also called for a reassessment of the position of the programme’s Administrator, Dennis Otuaro.

The group warned that it would proceed with a peaceful protest at the PAP office in Abuja if the Federal Government failed to address its concerns. It also appealed to Yoruba leaders, traditional rulers, political actors and civil society organisations to intervene in the matter.

While reaffirming its support for President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the organisation said fairness, inclusiveness and equal access to opportunities were essential to building confidence in the amnesty programme and sustaining peace in the Niger Delta.