Interim Administrator of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), retired Col. Milland Dikio, says he frowns at corruption.

He said on Wednesday in Asaba that training projects for ex-agitators was being delayed because he was not willing to continue with corrupt practices bugging the system.

His Special Assistant on Media, Nneotaobase Egbe, said in a statement that Dikio met an entrenched system of inducements, kickbacks and other illegal practices and was unwilling to continue with them.

Dikio accused some officials in the Amnesty office of derailing the mandate of PAP because of their selfish interests, noting that such persons were frustrating the projects and programmes of PAP using officialdom to seek kickbacks.

He said the corrupt officials had adopted various tactics to stall important projects in the reintegration process.

He cited a major agricultural project designed to train and employ about 800 beneficiaries on crop and livestock farming as well as other agro-based services as one of those stalled by officials who were demanding kickbacks

He said such officials were also sitting on training programmes for 3,000 delegates in the maritime sector, adding that they were frustrating training projects for 520 delegates on fabrication, aviation and oil and gas.

“On assumption of office, my mission was to ensure that delegates are trained to become employable citizens and successful entrepreneurs who can contribute meaningfully to the economy of the Niger Delta region and the nation at large.

“This was why I introduced the Train-Employ-Mentor (TEM) model that will ensure that the ex-agitators are trained and mentored overtime thus able to reintegrate successfully into the society thereby increasing the peace, security and economic stability of the Niger Delta region.

“These contracts and projects for training and employment are designed to be vital instruments in the reintegration process, thus induced delays will not do any good to the delegates and cannot benefit the Niger Delta,’’ he was quoted as saying.

Dikio said also that his vision remained to make the Niger Delta the best place to live and do business in Nigeria and to stop militancy in the region through the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme.