From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

A Traditional title holder from Kalabari Kingdom in Rivers State, Chief Ipalibo Jack​ Owukori​ has warned politicians and youths allegedly sponsored to castigate the achievements of the former Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Professor Charles Dokubu desist from doing so henceforth.

Owukori declared that Dokubo’s achievements in two years remains unbeaten compared to other administrators of PAP.

Prof Dokubo was sacked as Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) amidst protests and allegation of misappropriation of funds by some stakeholders from the Niger Delta region.

But Chief Ipalibo Jack​ Owukori, who claimed to have expirienced the goodness of the Presidential Amnesty office under Prof Dokubo said though the successive Amnesty office administrations had their flaws, Dokubo led administration performed beyond the present administrator and his predecessors.

Owukori warned those spreading alleged falsehood against Prof. Dokubo and their sponsors to stop because he did his best to serve his people during his tenure as Amnesty boss.

“Within two years, Prof. Dokubo trained or empowered more than 3,000 PAP beneficiaries, however within the same two years, Col. Miland Dixon Dikio (retd.), the current interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) ​ has trained or empowered less than 1,000 PAP beneficiaries.”

Related News

​“What are the metrics for measuring success at the PAP? Is it just paying monthly stipends.
You measure success by the number of lives you affect positively in our region! You measure success by the number of PAP beneficiaries you have trained or for those who can’t get the training, you give them empowerment in trade or other occupations,” he said.

Owukiri who stated that Kingsley Kuku and Paul Boroh also did their own share of empowering the people, stressed that Niger Delta youths need training and empowerment that are in tune with reality of the Niger Delta situation.

​“Our children are jobless, many of them are untrained, therefore, they do not meet the needs of many employers. I recently heard that the Amnesty office is sending some pilots abroad for training. That is a misplaced priority! Look at the global ​ aviation industry, the airlines are having a stagflation.”

” Which airline company will employ these pilots in the midst of a stagflation, and after you have spent $100,000 USD training each person? This is a misplaced priority in a time when we have thousands of young men and women that could have been trained and empowered in other skill sets such as plumbing, welding, manufacturing, electricity, auto mechanics etc.”

“In about thirty days, Col. Dikio will have served two years as the interim administrator of the PAP. He needs to focus on training and to empower our people for his own legacy, bearing in mind that previous projects are of the legacies of his predecessors. Otherwise, when he leaves that office, he would wish he had built a better legacy for himself, because in politics, you never know, this is a political season and there are gorillas roaming around Abuja for that office. In my opinion, nothing is guaranteed.”