Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has congratulated Milland Dikio on his appointment as the new coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
A statement by his Media Advisor, Fidelis Soriwei, yesterday, also quoted the former governor as having commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing another Ijaw son into the position.
He described the president’s decision to retain the position in Ijaw land in spite of pressures as thoughtful and encouraging since Ijaw youths are the predominant participants of the amnesty programme.
Dickson urged the new amnesty boss to take advantage of his enviable experience as a senior military officer of sterling record to unite the former agitators and promote peace and stability in the region.
He said he was not in any doubt that with his experience as a manager of security and human resources within and outside Nigeria in sensitive capacities (in and out of the military) that the new amnesty boss would succeed with the cooperation of all.
Dickson said while he and majority of stakeholders expected the position to move to another state, all Niger Delta stakeholders should set aside their differences to support Dikio in the collective interest of the people now that the appointment has been made.
The former governor, who urged Dikio to give the deserved attention to the training and provision of opportunities for self-employment to the youths of the area, advised him to engage stakeholders in no distant time on how best he can improve on the programme, and make its impact more visible and sustainable.
Dickson called on all former agitators, youths leaders and others critical stakeholders to support the new amnesty boss in his new position
He said Dikio’s success at the amnesty office would be in the interest of the Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta and, indeed, Nigeria.
He also advised all persons who indicated interest in the job but couldn’t get it to support the new amnesty boss in the overall interest of Niger Delta by making their experiences available to him.
He thanked the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, for the maturity with which he has handled the amnesty office and for finding “our people worthy of trust.”