Leaders of the Marginalized Original First-Phase members of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) have appealed directly to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying they are being punished and pushed aside for speaking up about fairness and transparency in the programme.

In a joint statement signed by Chief Gen. Pius Wariyai and Leader Excel Yerindideke Toriomo, the group said their problems escalated after they publicly asked for better treatment for former agitators. Their demands included increase of stipends, improved welfare for leaders, university scholarship opportunities, accurate registration of genuine ex-agitators, completion of outstanding Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) training, and a forensic audit of the programme’s finances.

The leaders claim that because they raised these lawful concerns, they were deliberately left out of the recent Christmas package distribution for First-Phase PAP leaders. Toriomo said he spoke with Mr. Aroni Opudu, who allegedly told him that instructions came from the PAP office to withhold gifts from any leaders who took part in the publications. Toriomo added that even items already handed out—such as bags of rice—were to be taken back from those seen as “fighting the office.”

They said their only wrongdoing was to speak peacefully and responsibly for accountability, justice, and the integrity of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme. The statement expressed alarm that people who were never part of the original First-Phase leadership are being favored, while the genuine leaders who helped bring peace to the Niger Delta continue to be sidelined.

The council insisted their demands are not personal or hostile but are meant to ensure fairness, transparency, and the long-term credibility of the programme. They asked President Tinubu to stop the victimization, order a full forensic audit of the PAP’s accounts, ensure completion of ADR training for true First-Phase leaders, and restore fairness and inclusion for those original leaders in the programme’s operations.

Expressing trust in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, the leaders urged his immediate intervention to prevent more injustice and to restore confidence among those who sacrificed for peace in the Niger Delta. The statement was issued on behalf of the Marginalized Original First-Phase PAP Leaders and signed by Chief Gen. Pius Wariyai and Leader Excel Yerindideke Toriomo.