Special Adviser to the President and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo says the amnesty programme of the federal government is work in progress.
Dokubo spoke at a meeting with some leaders of the ex-agitators in Lagos.
He said: “For me, that is a cardinal thing. The Niger Delta has gone through difficult period; agitations over marginalization and the fight for redress of the situation. I believe that we have started redressing the situation.
“This policy did not start with me; it has been there for sometime before I took over office. And what I have to do is to drive a new direction; a direction that has been influenced by meetings with people that are better exposed to the situation here.
“If we fail our people, then we fail for everything. If we don’t empower our people, stabilize their lifestyles, then, I believe that we will only be playing catch-up.
“That is why in as much as we look for development, there is need to retrain the minds of our people. It is not only about stipends, but the quality of life for the Niger Delta people”.
A community leader, Chief Famous Ayakpo, noted that the meeting was the first of its kind by the leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme since its creation in 2009.
“We are happy because since the establishment of the Amnesty Programme, nobody has been able to bring together the major five leaders of ex-agitators to sit and discuss how to keep the peace and move the Niger Delta forward,” he stated.
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