Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, says it is not necessary and proper to politicise the Federal Government’s Presidential Amnesty Programme for ex-agitators in the Niger Delta.

Diri, who stated this when he played host to the Interim Administrator of the PAP, Col. Milland Dikio (retd.), at the Government House, Yenagoa, said stakeholders from the region should rather forge a common front to ensure that the programme achieved its objectives.

He expressed the willingness of Bayelsa and other states in the Niger Delta to collaborate with the amnesty office to enable it to succeed.

The governor, who described Dikio’s visit to the Niger Delta as a welcome development, said, “This is not the time for us to politicise that programme. It is a programme that directly affects our youths in the various states that make up the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

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“These states, as you are aware, today have all the six governors in the Niger Delta region in the PDP. But let nobody deceive you that because they are PDP, they are not ready to work with you. We are prepared to work with you. I, in particular, will ensure that you succeed in this amnesty programme, which we believe will add value to our youths,” Diri stated.

He lauded the amnesty boss for the initiative of bringing the PAP back home and advised him to set up a zonal office in the state for easy coordination.

The governor also advised youths of the region to not always resort to blocking the road at the slighted provocation, stressing that there were better ways of resolving issues.

Dikio, in his remarks, said he was in Yenagoa as part of an initiative known as the ‘Back to the Niger Tour’, which aims to bring the amnesty programme from Abuja back to the region.

The PAP boss said he was ready to work with the governors and other stakeholders in the region, and solicited their support to change the narrative from that of violence and protests to consultation and dialogue as means of resolving issues.