FG blasts Soyinka, critics of amnesty

Clement Idoko, Abuja - 01.07.2009

THE Federal Government, on Tuesday, took a swipe at the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and the opposition parties in the country for their comments on the amnesty it granted the Niger Delta militants.

The Secretary to Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale, speaking in Abuja, while receiving officials of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), led by is President and Editor In-Chief, Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, said the present administration would not allow distractions.

He said he was surprised when President Umaru Yar’Adua made pronouncement on amnesty, virtually all the opposition parties said it was not good, even respected people like Professor Wole Soyinka, said no, they doubted it.

While urging the media to assist the government in ensuring the success of the 60-day amnesty granted the militants in the Niger Delta, Yayale said the Federal Government had taken holistic views of the implications of the amnesty in line with its genuine desire to restore peace and order to the region.