Stakeholders in the Niger Delta have praised Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Prof. Charles Dokubo, for taking steps to develop Niger Delta and giving the people hope.
They noted that successive coordinators only focused on amnesty and payment of stipends to ex-agitators, and neglected development of the region, a critical component of the amnesty initiative.
Speaking at the opening of a four-day retreat of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Committee, constituted by Dokubo, the panel’s Technical Coordinator, Dr. Ferdinand Ikwang, said Dokubo had demonstrated commitment to improve PAP.
He said: “Every other coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) focused on amnesty and forgot developing the Niger Delta.
“This is the first time that a coordinator is focusing on development of the Niger Delta.”
Dokubo urged workers of the Amnesty Office to support the committee in charting a new course for the programme.