Dokubo reveals that he is under pressure from Niger Delta elite to share out amnesty money to them

PRESIDENTIAL Amnesty Programme coordinator Professor Charles Dokubo has revealed that he is facing increasing pressure from members of the elite in the Niger Delta to share out funds set aside to rehabilitate former militants.

Under the amnesty programme first instituted by Late President Umaru Yar'Adua, Niger Delta militants agreed to lay down their weapons and accepted to go on training programmes. In exchange for the this offer, the government is to pay them a monthly stipend, which is handed down to them through their various organisations.

In March this year, President Muhammadu Buhari sacked Brigadier Paul Boroh as the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta and replaced him with Professor Dokubo. A former director of research and studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Dokubo obtained a PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Bradford in the UK.

Yesterday, Professor Dokubo promised that he would not bow to pressure to share funds meant for ex-militants. Speaking during a meeting with the Niger Delta Amnesty Vendors Association in Abuja, he advised Niger Deltans to shun unnecessary criticism and fully support the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Professor Dokubo added that he would ensure that the amnesty programme funds were prudently managed in spite of pressure from individuals and groups with parochial interests. He said he was unperturbed by the desperation of some persons using the media to harass and blackmail him for his refusal to disburse funds meant for genuine beneficiaries to people not captured in the programme.

“If you are not on this programme, forget about getting N65,000 monthly as you must be captured by this programme to be entitled to the payment of a monthly stipend.  Nobody from the Niger Delta has come to me that I didn’t give a listening ear but for me, right from the beginning, I have said I’m not going to use amnesty money for myself as I’m in this office to serve.

"I don’t need to steal money and amnesty money is for empowerment of the Niger Delta people and as long as I’m in this office, I’ll do the right thing. If you stand aside and watch, that is your business but the amnesty programme is here for you to empower the Niger Delta people," Professor Dokubo added.

Tari Okosi, the president of the Niger Delta Amnesty Vendors Association, warned youths and elders of Niger Delta against frivolous and malicious petitions that could turn back to haunt the region if the programme failed. He hailed Professor Dokubo for his transparency in the award of contracts and establishing a job placement unit, which has created more jobs to people of the region.