Niger Delta leaders reject amnesty programme probe panel

Stakeholders and leaders from the nine states of the Niger Delta region have kicked against the constitution of a five-man probe panel into alleged fraud in the Presidential Amnesty Programme. They urged President Muhammadu Buhari to replace the panel with a substantive coordinator for continued peace in the region.

The spokesperson of the group, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Restoration Alliance (NDRA), Dr. Biewari James Apulu, told Daily Trust Saturday in Yenagoa yesterday that the delayed appointment of a coordinator for the Presidential Amnesty Programme is noticeably evident in the tension and restlessness along the creeks and rivers in the region and they are concerned about the peace of the region.

Dr. Apulu said the appointment of a substantive coordinator will ensure the immediate commencement of the delayed vocational training for real beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme in preparation for emerging job opportunities.

The Federal government had on February, 2020 suspended the Coordinator of the programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo and a five-man probe panel was set up to investigate the workings of the office.