Stakeholders in the Niger Delta, yesterday lamented that successive Coordinators of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) had neglected the development of the region which was a critical component of the amnesty initiative.
The stakeholders comprising elders, opinion leaders and professionals drawn from various states across the Niger Delta, said previous coordinators of the programme had mainly focused on amnesty and payment of stipends to ex-agitators, but were not concerned with developing the region.
Speaking in Abuja at the official opening of a four-day retreat for members of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Committee constituted recently by PAP Coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo, the committee Technical Coordinator, Dr. Ferdinand Ikwang, expressed joy that the incumbent amnesty boss has taken steps to develop the region.
Ikwang, who, on behalf of members of the committee, presented an overview of PAP since its inception in 2009, noted that Dokubo has demonstrated commitment to move the programme forward.
“Other PAP coordinators focused on amnesty and forgot developing the Niger Delta. This is the first time a coordinator is focusing on development of the region. When I told General Abbe that Prof. Dokubo has done what he would have done, he was very happy. Somebody has stepped out to say I am ready to move the amnesty programme forward. We all owe a duty to support him. I want Dokubo to be remembered for reintegration,” he said.
Dokubo urged staff of the amnesty office to cooperate and support members of the committee towards charting a new course for the programme. He assured them of the committee members support, among whom he noted, were persons with deep knowledge of the programme.
“I have called these people to be members of this committee because I know they have a good knowledge of this programme. They were there when it first started; they have been there, and they know how to direct the programme. I don’t know for whatever reason, they were stopped from the programme because if I had met them, I would have used them but before I came, they were removed from the process and that was when I spoke with the Leader of the 29-member committee, T. K. Ogoriba and he sat me down to tell me about the direction of the programme and what they have done in the past,” he said.