The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has threatened to sue those who employ falsehoods to defame the agency and its Chief Executive, Major-General Barry Idiomu.
PAP, in a statement by its Senior Assistant on Media, Freston Akpor, also urged security agencies to arrest those spreading falsehood to undermine peace in the Niger Delta region.
The statement was reacting to a press conference held by one Friday Iko urging anti-graft and related agencies to investigate the PAP over alleged corruption and imputing fraud in the disbursement of funds to the PAP Cooperative.
Iko had among other issues alleged that “some members of staff in the office are receiving huge amounts for welfare ranging between M15 to N10 million for monthly running cost”.
PAP said the monies mentioned were clearly a figment of the imagination of the newsmaker who intends to use the media to achieve malicious ends only known to him.
Akpor described the allegations as “not only false but also baseless and a calculated attempt to commence another round of a smear campaign against the Interim Administrator and his dedicated management team by forces from within and outside the office”.
He advised the media to be wary of questionable characters who tend to use their platforms to publish or broadcast mischief against innocent people using pseudo names.
“PAP has conducted a background check on the purported newsmaker and has found no person of note with that name or identity. The media is therefore advised to be circumspect in allowing personalities bearing pseudonyms to use their platforms to broadcast or publish such mischief as they (media houses) could be in the cross hair of possible litigations.”
“As a national security programme, the PAP under General Ndiomu has been ethical and above board in discharging its mandate of ensuring peace and stability in the Niger Delta region. The PAP, therefore, wishes to call on the security agencies to arrest those spreading falsehood to undermine the peace in the region. The PAP will also not hesitate to bring charges against those who employ such falsehood in order to defame the chief executive and hardworking staff of the Programme,” the statement read in part.
