- Says Amnesty office has been hijacked by unknown people
- Amnesty not for vendors and contractors
- Wants FG to release Ex-agitators’ entitlement
Admin l Tuesday, July 30, 2019
PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – Niger Delta ex-agitators under the aegis of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators Forum have advised the Special Adviser (SA) to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Prof Charles Quaker Dokubo to always hearken to the advices and counsels of its leadership if the programme under his care would move to the next level in line with the policies of the present government.
The ex-agitators also called on President Muhammad Buhari to intervene into the affairs and activities of PAP to ensure the success of the programme and sustainance of the current peace in the region.
They particularly want the President to call his SA, Prof Charles Dokubo to order and direct him to fulfill all his promises to the leaders of the ex-agitators forum because, according to him, the SA has reneged on all the promises he made to them since last August.
National Secretary of the Niger Delta Ex-Agitators Forum, Hon Justice Nwogu made the call in an exclusive interview on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state.
“We want him to work with the advices given to him by High Chief Selky Kie Torughedi, aka ‘Gen Young Shall Grow’ leadership to enable this programme have a good limelight. Young Shall Grow has the Niger Delta people at heart and with his good advices the programme will have a good limelight. We want all leaders to support the leadership of Gen Young Shall Grow”, he said.
Hon Nwogu, popularly known as Gen King Jay, who is also the Rivers State chairman of the Niger Delta Ex Agitators Forum further urged Dokubo to fulfill all his promises to ex agitators.
“We call on the SA himself, Prof Dokubo to do everything possible to see to the welfare of all the ex agitators in the Niger Delta. All the promises he made to ex agitators to do this, to do that, all to no avail.”
Corroborating the National Secretary’s call, another ex agitator who refused names on print told our correspondent that the Presidential Amnesty Programme has been hijacked by unknown persons who don’t wish well for this government and the Niger Delta people.
“Amnesty Programme is meant for the ex agitators. It’s not for vendors; it’s not for contractors. The Amnesty was created through violence just for peace to reign in the oil rich Niger Delta region. But most of what we’re seeing now, it’s like the Amnesty office has been hijacked by unknown people.
“We don’t understand what is going on. We just want the federal government to call Dokubo to order, to look into the leaders issue and for him to release all our entitlements. Most of our delegates are not being taken care of. We just want the federal government to look at what is going on in Amnesty.”
Another ex-agitator, who simply gave his name as Ben informed that leaders of the forum were in Abuja last week to meet with the SA on how to move the programme forward but to no avail, adding that, “we’re tired of meeting in the DSS office in Abuja.”
Gen King Jay also advised Prof Dokubo to shun listening to cheap gossips from disgruntled leaders who never surrendered any weapon in the first place but to always hearken to the leadership of High Chief Torughedi, pointing out that they surrendered their weapons and ammunition for the sake of peace and development of the Niger Delta.
