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Amnesty Programme: Battle to succeed Dokubo intensifies

Published by The Nation on Sun, 09 Aug 2020


Suspense pervades the Niger Delta amid a clash of interests as the battle to succeed suspended Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, intensifies, writesUdeh DaniellaThe office of the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, initiated by the late President Umaru YarAdua in 2009, is perceived to be a juicy but hot seat by close observers, and had recorded a high turnover in about 11years of its creation.Prior to the appointment of Prof. Charles Dokubo, General Godwin Abe, Chief Timi Alaibe, Kingsley Kuku, and General Paul Boroh, had superintended over the programme, but only Kuku was able to occupy the office for over three years, a feat attributed to the fact that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was the sitting president of the country then, hails from the South-south region and understood the local politics as well as potpourri of interests of his people.With Jonathans exit and President Muhammadu Buharis assumption of power in 2015, those who had their eyes on the Amnesty Programme guarded their loins to actualise their ambition. They wrestled General Paul Boroh to the ground within a period of two years, and sustained the battle with high vigour till his successor, Charles Dokubo, was suspended from office.The lobby to step into his shoes commenced in earnest, but the steam soon evaporated when there was no clear signal on the terms of reference and duration of the caretaker committee constituted by the National Security Adviser, General Mohammed Monguno, to manage the amnesty programme in the interim and review its operations.However, on Tuesday, July 21, the committee reportedly submitted its report to President Muhammadu Buhari, in which it made wide ranging recommendations. Expectedly, the submission of the report has thrown the gladiators back to the trenches, as well as some new entrants, in a titanic battle to succeed Dokubo.Chief Mike Loyibo and Chief Dennis Otuaro, a younger brother to the incumbent Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro, are among those with a sustained ambition to head the amnesty programme, and are presently in the race to succeed Dokubo, while no fewer than eight other contenders have recently enlarged the list.They include a dental surgeon, Dr. Chris Ekiyor, a former Commander of the Army Headquarters Garrison, Major General B.T Ndiomu (retired); another ex-military officer, Col. Dedis Abel, and the Personal Assistant to the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege. Three leaders of ex-Niger Delta agitators, Chief Reuben Wilson, Chief Ebikabowei Victor Ben, and Chief Selky Tile Torughedi, alias Young Shall Grow, are also in the race.All the contenders for the plum job, it was learnt, had submitted their resume to the office of the National Security Adviser and the Presidency, amidst suspense in the Niger Delta region on who becomes the next Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme. Various interest groups are said to be intensifying consultations as they x-ray the profile, competence and the commitment of the contenders to the interest of the Niger Delta.Not much is known about the former military officers apart from the fact that Col. Abel was a member of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) Course 23; a mate to the NSA, General Monguno, and served as the Chief of Staff to Dokubos predecessor, General Boroh, while General Ndiomu, who, like Abel, also hails from Bayelsa State, was a member of NDA Regular Combatant Course 29 and held various positions, including Garrison Commander, Nigerian Army Headquarters. Born on May 2, 1963, Ndiomu was also Chief of Training and Operations at the Defence Headquarters.For Mike Loyibo, who had long had his eyes fixed on Dokubos job, issues allegedly raised in some circles are said to have slimmed his chances, but he has kept his hope alive and maintained a strong spirit.Feelers from the presidency indicated that it will also not be an easy walk into the office of the Coordinator, Amnesty Programme for Dennis Otuaro, younger brother to the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro, and a relation of a former leader of the Niger Delta armed struggle, Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo.Dennis, who hails from Gbaramatu, Delta State, is reportedly riding on the shoulders of the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to actualise his ambition, but his perceived allegiance to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is said to have possibly put a spanner in his works.There are fears that with 2023 at the corner, appointing a younger brother of the deputy governor of a state controlled by the opposition PDP could be suicidal. Pigha Gbana, a community leader in the Niger Delta and member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), puts it this way.It is not that Chief Dennis Otuaro is not competent to hold the office. He has been an activist for the emancipation of the Niger Delta from environmental degradation and marginalisation. But as a younger brother to the Deputy Governor of Delta State, and his blood relationship with Tompolo, who is a pillar of the PDP in Delta and Bayelsa states, no political strategist, no genuine leader of our party the APC, will make the mistake of handing over such a sensitive office as Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme to somebody with strong ties with an opposition party.Dont forget that there are about 30, 000 ex-agitators being catered for under the Amnesty Programme and there are thousands of their allies still in the creeks who are not part of the programme. If you hand over the resources at the Amnesty Programme to someone with the blood of PDP running in his veins, he can use it to empower and influence the ex-agitators who are vital to the outcome of elections in the Niger Delta to work in support of the PDP. Mind you, we have lost Edo State to the PDP, and almost all the South-south states are controlled by the PDP.While a section of the political class in Delta State are divided in their choice of the next Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme between Dr. Chris Ekiyor, a former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and Dennis Otuaro, a majority of stakeholders and leaders of ex-agitators in the states across the oil-rich Niger Delta region are said to be routing for Chief Reuben Wilson, popularly known as Pastor Reuben, National President of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI), an umbrella body of all first phase leaders of ex-agitators under the Amnesty Programme.Stakeholders and close observers of the amnesty programme said the pendulum appeared to be swinging in the direction of Pastor Reuben, who is believed to have several factors working in his favour, having displayed wisdom and managerial acumen in his dealings with community leaders and the leadership of ex-agitators over the years.It was learnt that those who hold the ace in the Amnesty Programme are resolute on his choice to take over the mantle of leadership, and had presented their interest to relevant quarters in Abuja, the nations seat of power.Described as unassuming, tolerant and a bridge-builder, Reuben hails from Koluama 1, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and was the Chairman of all the Bayelsa APC local government coordinators for the 2019 governorship elections in the state.He was one time a Director of Operations at the Bayelsa State Centre for Youth Development, and also Bayelsa State Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme when Kingsley Kuku was at the helm of affairs, during which he facilitated and led 66 delegates comprising leaders of ex-agitators in the first phase of the programme for a business leadership training in 2012 under the sponsorship of the Amnesty Programme, and led another set of 45 delegates for the same training in 2014. This time, the trip was sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
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