Re: N/Delta militants want Amnesty Coordinator sacked

Our attention has been drawn to a news item published in the Friday, September 14th, 2018 edition of Daily Trust Newspaper captioned ‘N/Delta militants want amnesty coordinator sacked’. The report filed by the Bayelsa State correspondent on the newspaper, Mr. Bassey Willie, claimed that a coalition of Niger Delta militants want the coordinator of the […]

Our attention has been drawn to a news item published in the Friday, September 14th, 2018 edition of Daily Trust Newspaper captioned ‘N/Delta militants want amnesty coordinator sacked’.

The report filed by the Bayelsa State correspondent on the newspaper, Mr. Bassey Willie, claimed that a coalition of Niger Delta militants want the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, relieved of his appointment over alleged corrupt practices.

It also accused him of swapping hundreds of beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme with fictitious names, as well as siphoning money through award of contracts to companies owned by his stooges. To pep up the glaringly concocted report, two purported spokespersons of the coalition of militants were quoted to have vowed to commence a massive protest in Abuja and the Niger Delta region to press home their demand.

The Amnesty Office wishes to state that the allegations are barefaced lies, fabricated and scripted by some misguided elements with sinister motive and played out by the Daily Trust reporter in Bayelsa State, apparently for pecuniary gains.

Unfortunately, in his desire to satisfy the facilitators of the fake news, the reporter blinded his eyes to the principles of fairness and balancing, two basic dictates of the noble journalism, but rushed to churn out mischievous falsehood as facts to the undiscerning public.

Towards this end, while some other correspondents of national dailies in Bayelsa State were guided by the ethics of profession and took time to cross-check with the Amnesty Office on the issues raised by the purported coalition of militants, only the Daily Trust reporter rushed to publish the unsubstantiated allegations. The report is not only bereft of facts; it is sheer mischief and a brazen display of unethical conduct.

It is pertinent to state that since the conclusion of the Disarmament and Demobilization processes which led to the enrollment of 30,000 beneficiaries into the Presidential Amnesty Programme after a proclamation by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the Amnesty Office deals with only ex-agitators most of whom have passed through various trainings and empowerment. Those who have not been trained or empowered are on queue waiting for their turn. Therefore, there could not have been a coalition of ‘militants’ that want Prof. Dokubo sacked.

On the allegation of swapping names of beneficiaries, this is preposterous and outright wickedness. While I can neither deny nor confirm that such practices might have occurred under previous managers of the Amnesty Programme, it certainly has not, and cannot happen under Prof. Dokubo’s watch. In furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade, Dokubo has maintained zero tolerance for corruption, and remarkably succeeded in cleaning up the mess at the Amnesty Office. Apart from putting strong measures in place to deter and forestall future breaches, he has taken steps to restore the certainty and sanctity of the database of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Prof. Dokubo is focused on delivering on key areas of the Amnesty Programme which he has set as priority, including sanitization of the Education Department of the Amnesty Office to make it more impactful and cost effective; training and retraining of beneficiaries of the programme as well as empowering them in various trade areas.

The Amnesty Office emphasizes that Prof. Charles Dokubo has zero tolerance for corruption and welcomes constructive, responsible criticism. However, he does not need distractions from unverified and mischievous publications in the media, but support to achieve his lofty dream for beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme and people of Niger Delta.

Murphy Ganagana, Special Assistant (Media) to Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme.