Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Peter Nwaoboshi has said that the country’s upper lchamber of the National Assembly is proud of the achievements of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, within his short period in office.
Senator Nawoboshi pledged more support from the federal legislature; to uplift the programme to greater heights.
He said these at the commissioning of the Oil and Gas Basic Skills Vocational Training Centre, Agadagba-Obon, Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State at the weekend, where he also commended Dokubo for his prudent management of funds allocated to the amnesty programme and his transparency.
“The Presidential Amnesty Programme which was established in the year 2009 has had four chief executives as Special Advisers/Coordinators. Of all the four, I can confidently say that the present Coordinator has been very proactive and eager to realise the mandate of the programme. By this, I mean he always rubbed minds with the National Assembly, in coming up with activities that will move the organisation forward. The Coordinator has demonstrated that he has nothing to hide by always seeking to synergise with the National Assembly and, indeed, with stakeholders, to achieve set objectives. Last year, the committee recommended N65 billion, which was passed in the year’s appropriation. When we visited his office, he was able to bring a report to us, which encapsulated so many reports of what he has achieved in the Niger Delta. We are very proud of him. This year, our committee will do more to improve on the achievements of the agency,” said Nwaoboshi, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Baba Kaka Bashiru.
In his remarks on behalf of the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta, Istiphanus Gyang, said: “We at the National Assembly have supported the initiative with appropriation and funding. We are therefore glad, today, that the sound we created is attracting the needed value as we have seen in this place”.
Earlier, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Murphy Ganagana, yesterday, he said Prof. Dokubo disclosed how the Centre would build human capacity, to fill gaps in the lower and middle cadre levels in the oil and gas sector.
He described President Muhammadu Buhari as “a forthright and incorruptible leader who resisted pressure from some quarters to wind up the Presidential Amnesty Programme. Let me place on record that we are able to achieve all these because of the staunch and unalloyed support president Buhari has been giving the amnesty programme and the Niger Delta, as a whole.
“I can confirm to all stakeholders gathered here, today (Friday), that president Buhari loves the Niger Delta and its people.
“I met five of such centres in several stages of abandonment. Other than the one we are commissioning today (Friday), the others are sited at Kaiama, Bayelsa State; Obuama, Rivers State, Bomadi, Delta State and Gelegele, in Edo State.”