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Tag: Presidential Amnesty Programme

  • Allow PAP boss to do his job, monarch cautions detractors

    Allow PAP boss to do his job, monarch cautions detractors

    Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Administrator Dr. Dennis Otuaro got a pat on the back at the weekend for the steps taken so far to reposition the scheme.

    The King of Okochiri Kingdom in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State, King Ateke Tom, who made the commendation warn detractors to steer clear.

    The monarch observed that Otuaro had quietly carried out well-thought-out reforms to reposition the PAP for better and quality service delivery.

    Speaking while hosting the PAP boss at his palace in Okochiri, Ateke Tom stressed that Otuaro had demonstrated that he had the capacity to pilot the programme.

    In a statement by his media assistant, Mr. Igoniko Oduma, royal father added that Otuaro’s commitment and passion for efficient service to the people of the Niger Delta were not in doubt.

    Read Also: Steer clear of PAP boss, monarch warns detractors

    Cautioning detractors leave Otuaro alone, he said the ill-advised attempts by some characters to pull him down were condemnable and not in the best interest of the region, delegates and beneficiaries of the PAP.

    He described Otuaro as a committed Niger Delta leader n and a product of the struggle, who believed in wide consultation and collaboration with stakeholders for the success of the programme.

    The monarch thanked President Bola Tinubu for appointing Otuaro, stressing that the president made the right choice in his decision.

    The statement quoted him as saying: “Mr. (PAP) Administrator, I want to commend you for all that you are doing to better the programme for our people and our region. Since your appointment, I have watched keenly how you have made progress and recorded laudable achievements.”

  • APC, PDP ex-agitators row over Amnesty

    APC, PDP ex-agitators row over Amnesty

    Phase 3 National Chair of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and leader of APC Ex-agitators Forum, (APCEF) in Delta State, Para Ekiyes, has accused a parallel national chair, Preye Ekpebide, of complicity in the affairs of Phase 3.

    In a statement, yesterday, Para said the parallel group sought to thwart his executive.

    The statement reads: “The national leadership of Phase 3 and members of APC Ex-agitators Forum draw attention of the Federal Government and Amnesty to efforts by a group, led by Preye Ekpebide, a PDP youth leader and senior special assistant to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Youth Development, to distract and destabilise our efforts.

    “Ekpebide was sponsored by some PDP elements to be an eye for them in Amnesty.

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    “Their mission is for him to be a source of information and a go-between, reporting issues to them from the office with the intent of discrediting APC-led Federal Government.

    “We call on the coordinator, Dennis Otuaro, to be wary of Ekpebide and his group because their mission is to distract the Third Phase.

    “We call on Oborevwori, who we believe is not aware of this,  to call his aide to order.

    “We also urge the Presidency not to allow such a group of PDP loyalists to hijack the Third Phase”.

    Spokesman of Ekpebide-led executive, Henry Gomeromo, said: ”There is no PDP and APC politics in Amnesty. You may belong to any party. It’s a ploy to tarnish the image of the elected national executive of the Third Phase.

    “We tried to appease aggrieved persons after the election, including Para Ekiyes but he is bent on sabotaging us. There is that there is no party politics to choosing Third Phase leadership of Presidential Amnesty Programme”.

  • Two die, others injured as Bayelsa community loots amnesty complex

    At least one person was killed and many others injured at the weekend when community members broke into an office complex belonging to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    The shocking invasion and raid were reportedly carried out by residents of Orubiri, a host community of the amnesty yard located in Boro Town, which was named after the late Ijaw hero, Isaac Adaka Boro.

    One of the invaders said to have asthmatic condition was reportedly choked to death in one of the warehouses while a baby brought into the complex by a woman was said to have died in the ensuing stampede.

    The Amnesty Office built the expansive yard comprising many blocks of storey buildings to act as a liaison office for coordination of amnesty issues in the Niger Delta region, including storage and distribution of starter packs to beneficiaries.

    But investigations revealed members of the host community, numbering over 1,000, invaded the complex, broke into all the offices and looted equipment and starter packs worth billions of naira.

    The invaders were said to have overpowered a few army operatives stationed at the entrance, pushed down the gate and engaged in free-for-all stealing of items.

    Efforts of the security operatives to stop them by shooting in the air were said to have proved abortive because of the high number of the invaders.

    It was gathered that youths and women participated in the looting and ensured that equipment bought for persons trained for different skills was carted away.

    The marauders were said to have stolen everything including installed air-conditioners, furniture and fittings and attempted to remove electric wires.

    An employee of the amnesty office, who spoke in confidence, said the looting started early Tuesday morning last week adding that the equipment carted away was meant for beneficiaries from impacted communities in other states.

    He said the Coordinator of PAP, Prof. Charles Dokubo, inaugurated the distribution of the items in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Warri, Delta State and Orubiri, the host community in Bayelsa.

    He said following the inauguration, about 500 beneficiaries of the host communities got their items without crisis.

    “But we were surprised that the next day youths and women from the same host communities numbering over 1000 assembled at the entrance of the complex and demanded their share of the items.

    “We explained to them that the items were meant for impacted communities in various states. They didn’t listen. They rather insisted that the items must be given to them.

    “Most of them started calling people from other communities and before we knew it, the entrance was filled up. The person in charge of the place tried to call for security reinforcement.

    “Even when they came, there was nothing the security operatives could do. The people pulled down the gate and started looting the items in the warehouses. They engaged in the looting overnight till the next morning,” he said.

    The source added that Dokubo visited the place and expressed anger at the destruction of the complex, wondering why the host community would engage in damaging properties under their care.

    The source said: “When the coordinator left, the people still besieged the complex. It was worse that night.

    “Some of us were forced to flee because our lives were under threat. Some of the employees who could not escape were attacked.

    “The people stole all the properties of our employees and even removed trousers from their waists. They broke into the administrative blocks and removed all the items there.

    “They removed air-conditioners including toilet seaters. They are still looting. They are even trying to steal cables in the ground”.

    The source said the office had video recordings of the invasion describing the area as security risk and called on law enforcement agencies to stop what he described as madness.

    He added that an official report of the incident had been sent to the amnesty office in Abuja saying the office would take a final decision on the matter.

  • Amnesty Programme has deepened peace in Niger Delta – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the Presidential Amnesty programme deepened the prevailing peace in the Niger Delta in line with the change agenda of the Buhari administration.

    In a letter of commendation to the Special Adviser to the President on the Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubi by the National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the APC said the programme has been positively transformed by the current leadership.

    Appraising the achievements of the current administration ahead of the 2019 elections, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), said the Presidential Amnesty Programme under the leadership of Dokubo, has been positively transformed.

    The party applauded Dokubo’s efforts at ensuring development in the oil-rich region, adding the positive transformation of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

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    The letter reads: “The party commends your efforts to bring development to the all-important Niger Delta region and ensure that the region actively participates in matters of national concern, irrespective of political affiliations.

    “Under your watch, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has been positively transformed and has ensured stability in the Niger Delta region. This is in line with the Change Agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as enshrined in our manifesto.

    “While there remains more works to be done in bringing about total and lasting peace to the region, we urge you not to relent, but continue to explore all means and avenues to ensure the success of the Programme and its developmental initiatives for the region.”

    The party assured Dokubo of its cooperation, commitment and support towards sustaining peace in the Niger Delta.

     

  • 455 amnesty beneficiaries undergoing vocational training

    About 455 beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme are sharpening their skills in various vocations as the critical reintegration phase of the programme gathered momentum, it was learnt yesterday.

    Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, confirmed this at the opening of vocational training for 72 delegates in various areas at the Fouzz Fashion Institute, Igando, a Lagos suburb.

    Prof Dokubo said the Amnesty Programme had a mandate to train and empower its beneficiaries, besides serving as a vehicle to maintain peace and security in Niger Delta.

    He told the nominees: “You are going to attain the goals for which the Amnesty Programme is set up. The programme is a vehicle to train and empower people so that they can fend for themselves.

    “This is an opportunity for all of you; for me, you must know why you are here and for each one of you, there is a bright prospect. Whatever you do and wherever you put your heart, you will excel.”

    He promised that at the end of the training to last for  six months, delegates would be empowered in their various trades.

    The special adviser said: “After being trained, you will also be empowered so that when you leave here, you will have a job to do. My visit here is to see how you are faring.

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    “I plead with you to obey the rules while in training, study hard as if your life is in danger. When you come out of this training centre, you will be better off in your life. You are all from diverse background, but with what you are doing, we know where you are going. Anything that will enhance your training, I will do it so long as it is legal and viable.”

    The Managing Director of Fouzz Fashion International Limited, Enetimi Evah, noted that the delegates were passing through a transformation process as the training progressed and expressed optimism that they would be change agents on graduation.

    He said: “Right now, we are training the delegates in fashion designing and leather works. They are all doing well and I am very proud of them.

    “I want to use this opportunity to appreciate Prof. Charles Dokubo for the wonderful job he is doing and also thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his determination to transform the Niger Delta region.”

    Besides the 72 beneficiaries undergoing training at the Fouzz Fashion Institute, 19 delegates were also being trained in GreenHouse at Epe, also a Lagos suburb.

    More than 200 others are acquiring welding and fabrication skills at Agadagba, Ondo State. All the 455 beneficiaries  undergoing vocational training at various centres across the country were deployed between March and November.

  • Presidential Amnesty Programme: A future assured

    It is most disheartening that we as Ijaws and Niger Deltans have learnt nothing from the unfortunate attrition we connived and collaborated in, that led to the fall of the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration, which has invariably, albeit inadvertently, created a banana peel in the affairs of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. The sundry threats of ill-motivated protests and ill-advised petition writing has not only become disgraceful, but reprehensible.

    The question however is, who is beating the drum of this unconscionable misadventure? And to what end or purpose? The thought alone, of denigrating the integrity and purposeful leadership of a compatriot is criminal, especially when it is to sate narrow political objectives and pecuniary avarice. I shudder to the marrow of my bones to see our proud race and tribe besmirching itself in such ignominy.

    Oftentimes, I caution my migratory thoughts in wonder if the obnoxious opprobrium being perpetrated is the clannish mindlessness occasioned by the fact that the reticent Professor hails from the Eastern flank of the region. Because never before during the tenures of those from the Central and Western flanks of the Delta has any been accused of nepotism as basis for seeking his removal from office.

    The accusations in the recent threat that the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, PAP is populating the Amnesty Programme with persons of his tribe and awarding contracts in favour and exclusively to his Kalabari kith and kin flies most ridiculously in the face of truth, reality and verifiable fact. The statistics on ground unequivocally shows that this portrayal, false as it is from the pit of hell, is intended to whip up parochial sentiments and puss the sterling achievements of Prof. Charles Dokubo.

    A cursory look at the staff delineation shows clearly that his Kalabari ethnic group in particular and the Eastern zone in general are the least represented in appointments and contracts awarded by him. Hitherto, this was not the case and there was no hue and cry from these Born-again children of perfidy whose stock in trade is pernicious. This is unfortunate, and a slur unpardonable to our unity as a people of the Niger Delta.

    It would be wise for those who are allowing their conscience and the destiny of our people to be persuaded by monetary gains to harken to the indomitability of spirit and resonance of truth in the words of Commander Biggy, Chief Ebi Pinapinawei, himself an ex-agitator, who has cautioned Niger Delta politicians over plots against the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, whom he said has done creditably well, and that those clamouring for his sack are being sponsored by some dubious Niger Delta politicians who had embezzled Amnesty funds.

    It is obvious that the Professor has ruffled dubious sacred feathers with his sanitization of the Amnesty Database and anti-corruption stance; his continued stay in office, some unscrupulous people believe, may lead to his unearthing a Pandora box of corrupt practices from which they feed fat at the expense of the real beneficiaries of the Programme and the Niger Delta. Little wonder they are so anxious and desperate.

    True Sons and Daughters of the Niger Delta are not willing to compromise their destiny and the certain future Prof. Charles Dokubo is dedicated and unrelenting to achieve for them. As he progresses with his well thought-out policies and programmes, and God willing, with the political will of the Federal Government to sustainably rehabilitate our youths, reintegrate and insert them gainfully into civil society, no weapon fashioned against Dokubo and the tomorrow of our indomitable youths shall prosper.

    It will not be inappropriate at this time, in concluding, to admonish our budding generation next, that the future is theirs to behold. Prof. Charles Dokubo is just a tool in the hands of God; let us all support him to achieve the Niger Delta of our dreams.

    • Warefade wrote in from Warri, Delta State.

     

  • How l became rich through amnesty programme, by ex-agitator

    In 2016, the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) distributed empowerment kits to 50 trained ex-militant leaders. One Mr. Gabriel Amadi from Rivers State was one of the beneficiaries.

    Prior to the training, Amadi had no means of survival apart from the approved monthly stipends for ex-militants. But Amadi and others were trained on fish farming. Tanks and other materials were among the starter-packs given to them by the office. While Amadi is now an established fish farmer, others have nothing to show for their trainings and empowerment.

    “Through this programme, I have become a successful man”, he said recently in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    He spoke at the Amnesty Office complex located in Boroh Town during a brief ceremony to empower 150 fresh graduates of the scheme. The Presidential Adviser and Coordinator of PAP, Prof. Charles Dokubo and his team brought Amadi to encourage the new trainees by sharing his experience.

    It was a happy occasion. Youths, men and women defiled downpour of that day to receive Dokubo. They welcomed him with drums and dancers. It was obvious that Dokubo has distinguished himself within a short period in office.

    The coordinator, an author of many books, knows the significance of Kaiama. It is where all the struggles for emancipation of the Ijaw and the Niger Delta started. The late Major Adaka Boroh, who hailed from Kaiama laid the foundation for the struggle and later aggrieved youths gathered in the town to make declarations for resource control and self-determinism encapsulated in the famous Kaiama Declaration.

    Little wonder, the crowd came out en masse to receive the coordinator of a programme that was birthed by the Ijaw struggle. Dokubo was impressed at the experience of Gabriel. He was happy that some lives had been touched by the amnesty vision.

    Gabriel said: “l was empowered in 2016 as a fish farmer. The amnesty programme gave me two tanks as starter packs. But today, l have about 12 tanks. I can hatch. l produce fingerlings. I sell to individuals that are farmers like me.

    “Through this programme my family and l will never be poor. With the knowledge l have on agriculture, I diversified to poultry and l have 300 layers and before the end of the year they will start laying eggs”.

    However, Dokubo was touched when Gabriel lamented that out of 50 of his colleagues, he was the only successful person. “We were about 50 when they empowered us in 2016 but out of the number l am the only successful person because l took it seriously”, he said.

    What then happened to 49 others? The new coordinator has since identified the bane of the programme. No wonder he declared when he paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) in Government House immediately he arrived Bayelsa that the empowerment phase of the programme had not produced expected results.

    He insisted that the people of the Niger Delta would not have been suffering if the scheme had lived up to expectations. He said his regime studied the failures in implementations of the programme and took a decision to refocus the scheme.

    He told the deputy governor: “The amnesty programme has taken a new turn. Amnesty has been here for a very long time, but those of us from this state have not gained it effectively. If we have most of our people will not be suffering”.

    Dokubo said his administration was focusing on the reintegration phase of the programme adding that President Muhammadu Buhari was interested in the scheme reaching rural communities.

    “The people of the Niger Delta for a long time have been marginalised,  ostracised and oppressed. But now we have come to a position where we can focus.

    “I believe that this system has changed.  The objective of the government clearly states that they want to nurse back communities to health in such a way that they will be part of the bigger picture”.

    Obviously, the 49 others empowered alongside Gabriel squandered their opportunities. Most of them sold their starter packs and wasted the money on frivolities. Others could not manage their business because when the training lasted they paid no attention. Therefore, they acquired no skills to effectively manage their business.

    But Dokubo has a new vision to compel trainees to make use of their starter packs and help in lifting the region from the throes of poverty. In the new dawn, all empowered trainees in each area will be located in yards owned by the amnesty office.

    They will be allocated business spaces in the yard with their starter packs. The trainees will run their business there supervised by the amnesty office for a period of time. The office will monitor and offer professional business advice to them until their businesses grow and multiply.

    Addressing the trainees, Dokubo said: “Any Niger Deltan, who doesn’t know Kaiama is not a true son of the Niger Delta. We have fought and won. We have battled and supposed to be empowered.

    “Empowerment is the last stage of the process of peacemaking. I came to flag off this event so that our people will be empowered. Every person entitled to have this empowerment programme will be empowered. Nobody will be left behind.

    “I also remember the history, the Kaiama Declaration, the crisis in the Niger Delta and now we have come of age. You are going to work tall and compete with others no matter where they come from. Niger Delta people are not lazy. We only need opportunities and this is the opportunity we have”.

    While lamenting that many of the trained youths remained unemployed, Dokubo said to achieve lasting peace in the region, all stakeholders must work together to provide employment and empowerment opportunities. Insisting that such opportunities should be created for youths not captured in the amnesty programme, Dokubo noted that the region was relatively peaceful and ready to attract investors.

    He called on potential investors not to focus only in the oil and gas sector but to also integrate other agro-allied businesses. Dokubo said: “Under our great leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian government has made the region conducive for investments.

    “The new investments would stimulate the economies of states in this region and employment opportunities for several of the youths that have been offered skills under the amnesty programme.

    “The fastest and easiest way to guarantee lasting peace in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea is the provision of gainful employment for the teeming population of youths and women of the Niger Delta”.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Presidential Amnesty Programme not owing school fees —Coordinator

    Prof. Charles Dokubo, Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Porgramme, has refuted allegations that it had failed to pay the school fees of some beneficiaries.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja that those who were alleging that they had not been paid either came into the programme through the “back door’’ or had personally decided to extend their degree programme.

    He said, “There is no other stipend that has not been paid, anything you hear about sometimes it is either people have been misinformed. We have a record in our office on those who are on stipends, others went into the programme through the back door.

    “If I identify those who came in through the back door,  most times  I don’t pay them because it is eating  deep into the budget that you were not part of. So I don’t pay.

    “Although sometimes I have a conscience because I say (to myself that) these people are Niger Deltans, how can we send our children out into the streets.

    “But we have to look at a way we can manage it so it does not eat deep into our budget and yet manage them because they are from Niger Delta.

    “Furthermore, there is also that idea of after your first degree you want to continue to do a Masters’ degree while you were just sent there to do a first degree, you go and register yourself and then go on protesting that the amnesty is not paying you your money.

    “Everything that those who complain and protest say we have to take with a bucket of salt because amnesty cannot send their students and refuse to pay their school fees.

    “People claim that they have not been paid and all that but if you check the records we pay those who are not getting payment is that they have finished their studies and have refused to come back.’’

    While also commenting on the issue of payment of back log of stipends, Dokubo said since he was appointed he had tried to pay most of the outstanding backlog.

    He stressed that payment of stipend was an important factor in maintaining the peace and security in the region.

    According to him, “if you do not pay them, they will go on a rampage, so in recent times I paid about three months at a time, so that this people could have money and I could have my rest.”

    He added that he had recently put the office on an alert situation where they do not have to wait till the end of the month to pay.

    The Professor, however, noted that the people saw they stipend as a sense of entitlement which affected the people involved in the programme.

    “If you have been empowered, given a job and been trained, you have to disengage from the programme. That is what I am trying to do and I believe I will l do that with the support of the staff I have in my office.’’

    On the issue of a recent report on mismanagement and corruption in the programme, the amnesty boss said he set up a committee to look into it when he was appointed.

    “I set up a committee to look into the organisation when I just took office, before I started work, they made a commendation for me, they have seen where they are loopholes and also were they are deep holes.

    “So definitely these holes have been closed, I cannot go into how it happened and all that but this committee I set up made it possible for me to close such holes.

    “You know when you come into a place if you do not look at if carefully before you start doing things you also will also be trouble and then that office is a very dangerous office.

    “Even if you are doing all the best you can, there are people to put you at a disadvantage, so you  are always on top of the job , looking at  it as if where is the next one coming.

    “You cannot stop it, our people have that sense of contestation and protestation, it has been imbibed either through a period of conflict in the region, so we will try to deal with it at our own time.’’

  • I want to refocus Amnesty Programme to original mandate – Dokubo

    Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, has a tall dream: to refocus the Amnesty Programme to its original mandate for sustainable peace, stability and economic development in the Niger Delta region. In this interview with selected journalists, he explains his focus and how he was able to host a meeting with the top five leaders of ex-agitators in Lagos recently. Excerpts

    YOU are coming as an academic to a new role. What are your responsibilities? This is a new office, a new challenge and a new environment.

    In the past, I had written about the Niger Delta and my position had always been that the Niger Delta people have been marginalised; that was my view. But with the coming of the Buhari administration, which I witnessed, there is a lot of commitment by this administration in Niger Delta in terms of funding and in terms of looking for peace and security in that environment. You mentioned information about the increase of oil production in the Niger Delta, I think that also testifies to the fact that without peace there will be no development and without development, there will be no peace.

    I will let you know about that office to which I have just been appointed, but the fact is that I don’t want to question or criticise my predecessor. Though I made inquiries of the situation of the office, my work was to immediately resolve issues; make it possible that the right people were employed at the right places and also put in all the efforts I can to do my best to make sure that the office works perfectly.

    The programme started very well but with time, it was driven by other demands that made it not to be very impactful. What I am doing now is to refocus the amnesty programme so that it could positively impact those who are meant to be catered for by this programme and you know that on my own, I can’t do it. That was why I initially made an attempt to meet the critical stakeholders; that is the big five. I think it was the first time in the programme that the big five had come to sit down with me and agree that they are going to drive my programme. For me, that was the best thing I have ever done; that I could bring these big five, talk to them, listen to them, and put forward the programme that I have developed for the period that I’m appointed. They all bought into that idea and are willing to push it forward.

    But it will not be complete without taking along members of the fourth estate of the realm. I believe that as I try to explain what I want to do with the programme, you will understand me and know where I am coming from and how you will respond to my demands; so it’s a two-way thing. There are certain things you will demand from me; Charles, what are you doing with this programme? I am ready as always; I’m willing to give you the way forward and then the way I have designed the programme so that it will meaningfully impact the people of Niger Delta.

    I’m a Niger Deltan. So, for me, I am ready and willing to carry this project and ensure that those who are groomed to benefit from this programme benefits from it.

    What do you mean by the big five?

    The big five are those who help to maintain peace and security in their areas in the Niger Delta.

    Who are they, can you mention their names?

    I don’t call them by their names; I see them as Niger Delta people that are interested in maintaining peace and security. They are stakeholders. They’ve been involved since the beginning of the programme and whenever there’s crisis in a particular part of the Niger Delta, we will always refer to them; they know the way to deal with it.

    And they are on your side?

    They are now on my side, yes.

    But the people that are supposed to enjoy the benefits of the Amnesty Programme, how happy are they? Are they happy with what’s going on?

    The fact is that most of them have undergone vocational training and most of them have been empowered to set up their own businesses. Some people have been sent abroad for schooling and all that, although I’m trying to put a stop to offshore training because of the amount of money that is expended on the training of one person. If we can have those people in Nigeria, I think it will be better for us to train them in Nigeria, because I see no reason why you send somebody to do Political Science in England, while most of the universities in Nigeria offer Political Science. Why can’t they do it here? The amount of money you’re going to spend on one person going to United Kingdom or USA for a political science degree, we can use that money to train four, five people in Nigeria. And as far as I am concerned, my first assessment of that offshore education is to keep it as a discount. Those who are there will finish; but to get new people there; that I will not like to do.

    You mentioned security, development and enhancement as your focus. Can you give us few things you want to do in terms of security and development? Can you mention some exact projects that you are working on?

    The fact is that to maintain the existing peace in the region is quite important for our function. If there is crisis in the region, then, basically all we are putting in place will not work. So, that’s why the security aspect of it is very important for me and in doing that, you have to pay stipends to the boys, who are working there, enhance their training and empowerment in the areas that we set up vocational centres.

    Do you have anything focused on the ex-agitators in the region? You know they cause a lot of destruction to development. Do you have any strategy focused on them?

    Yes, by interacting with them; by trying to let them know that the region belongs to them; that blowing up pipelines does not affect those who are in Lagos or Kaduna; it affects the people there, the ones that you claim to protect, so please stop that. What else do you want? So that we can do all that it takes to satisfy your aspirations and ambitions of the Niger Delta people.

    An aide to the Minister of State (Petroleum) said the Amnesty Programme is not sustainable and here you are, addressing journalists. I would have felt that you cleared the air on that. If the amnesty programme is not sustainable, are you working towards an alternative?

    If somebody said that the programme is not sustainable, the person is not talking from my office and the person couldn’t have known the way the programme has been designed to move. But I know that this programme is sustainable. I know the environment; I know the security environment of the Niger Delta and how it has been sustained to this level where we have massive production of oil and all that.

    Hitherto, there was a feeling of marginalisation; that the Nigerian people had taken sides with the multinational oil companies so that the Niger Delta people could not be trained and will not be part of that oil that comes from their place. But now, programmes are being done; we work with the oil companies, we also send our people to be trained. There might be some trouble but surely, I know that with time, these people would be trained to a level that they could see themselves as co-equals to anybody in any part of Nigeria and could be employed to do the work. The alternative will be too ghastly to contemplate.

    I see a complete disconnect in the agencies handling the Niger Delta, the Amnesty Office, the NDDC and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in terms of coalescing. The second is that I do not think there is enough engagement with the people. I think you need to do more of such engagements with the communities to be sure that even what you are putting there, represents the needs assessments of the people?

    You said there is disconnect between the various agencies in the Niger Delta. I think it was so in the past but not recently.

    It appears the federal government is not truthful in its dealings with the Niger Delta. It’s like its actions are driven towards oil production and not towards development of the area and that is where the problem of perception is created. I tell you, the situation in the region now needs some kind of psychological handling; the people feel abused because of the heavy security presence there. The people feel under siege. The people feel so abused in spite of federal government’s efforts to address the problems of the region?

    I think abuse is the word I would not accept because the fact is that you must also understand that the government has the right to maintain peace and security in any part of the country. I see no disconnect because like I said, if there’s no security, there will be no development and if there’s no development, there will be no security.

    How will your office manage the perception of the people over the overwhelming presence of the military and the feeling that you are just there to collect oil?

    Changing of perception is not something that you do overnight. The fact is that if there’s stability, these soldiers could be withdrawn. This place is owned by the people who live here; it is not owned by any security organisation.

    Do we have a deadline for the Amnesty Programme? Are you still collecting arms? What is your response to the protest by the people of Niger Delta whose complaint was that they were not being accommodated?

    As far as I’m concerned, I have not been given any deadline. Just to add to what you said, there are people in Ondo State where the government just did amnesty programme, a disarmament programme and they said they should be added to the Presidential Amnesty Programme. That’s beyond the limit of my office. I don’t declare amnesty for any person; it’s only the President that declares it, and when the president declares it, then they will be part of the Amnesty Programme. It is not within my purview to include any person into the amnesty programme. For me, we have to look at it as if it is work in progress, and then, the more we curtail the situation, the better for the programme itself.

  • Ex-militants allege exclusion from stipends, other benefits

    A group of Niger Delta ex-militants are not happy with the Amnesty Office, which conducts the activities of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). They feel marginalised and excluded from the programme.

    They alleged that despite being captured by the scheme, some persons in the amnesty office have made life hellish for them by refusing to integrate them into the programme. According to them, the office has denied them their monthly stipends and other benefits.

    The ex-agitators captured under the third phase of PAP urged the current Coordinator of the programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, to investigate their plights and take practical steps to resolve their problems.

    The leader of the group identified simply as ‘General’ Cairo, a.k.a Esenatebe in a  to the Niger Delta Reports appealed to the Federal Government to consider their travails with a sense of urgency and seriousness.

    He said: “It is something of shame and shock that since the third phase embraced the Federal Government Amnesty Programme those of the third phase have been neglected and have become objects of pity”.

    The former warlord advised Dokubo to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor, Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd). He said the immediate past coordinator were caged by some persons, who simply advanced their personal interests at the expense of the overall objectives of the scheme.

    He recalled that his group, the Cairo Group, stormed the National Assembly on November 1, 2017, for a protest against Boroh and submitted a petition to the lawmakers. He said a similar action would be taken if the office refused to address their problems.

    He said the petitions detailing injustices done them by the amnesty office were also sent to the Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International and the Presidency. Cairo insisted that if the current leadership failed to address their matter, his group would also embark on another round of protest.

    He said: “The Federal Government Amnesty programme was solely created for the Ijaw youths and other youths in the Niger Delta region, but not for people in northern, western and the eastern parts of the country.

    “We also called for the sacking of non-Niger Deltans from the programme because they have become a stumbling block for human capacity development and the need for all-round development of the region.

    “We have been shortchanged in the allocation of slots. We, therefore appeal for the payment of 1000 slots already approved for the Cairo Group because there are provision and appropriation in the 2018 budget in that regard”.

    He insisted that if their request were not considered, they would embark on a peaceful protest to the National Assembly against their marginalisation.