The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Prof Charles Dokubo, on Tuesday, expressed optimism that new policies and objectives for the Presidential Amnesty Programme under his watch would transform the Niger Delta region.
He, however, warned that the amnesty programme could not effectively serve its purpose if the people of the Niger Delta were not bonded by a common interest to develop the region.
Speaking in Abuja when a delegation of the South-South Chiefs, Elders and Opinion Leaders Association of Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit, Dokubo said the Niger Delta region would attain giant strides if the people could positively utilise the opportunities provided by the FG through the amnesty programme.
He said, “When the FG brought this programme, they did it because it was a necessary action. So, we are going to carry out this programme in an all-inclusive manner. Wherever you are from the Niger Delta, you must be part of this programme. I’m here to carry out what I call reintegration, training, retraining and bringing out Niger Delta people so that they can be as the qualified as any other person in Nigeria.”
Expressing dismay over what he described as the ‘pull-him-down’ syndrome prevalent among the people of Niger Delta, Dokubo urged them to be united and work for a common goal.
“For me, where I want Niger Delta people to look into is how we can use this office to benefit our people. It is not about personal gains; it is about community development. Let us stop agonising and start organising because if we do that, we will help ourselves,” Dokubo said.
He gave the assurance of his determination to deliver on the mandate handed him by President Muhammadu Buhari, who he said had the interest on the Niger Delta region at heart.
