By Sampson Boroh
Niger Delta militants have once again threatened fresh hostilities in the region over alleged planned removal of the current Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Professor Charlse Dokubo, by some powerful forces at the presidency.
The militant groups threatened that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government should be ready for another phase of hostilities in the region if it goes ahead with the planned sack of the amnesty boss.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme is an agency saddled with the training and rehabilitation of repentant arms-carrying youths in the region. Their activities brought about attacks and destruction of oil facilities in the region.
There had been rumoured plans by the Federal Government to sack Dokubo and subsequently replace him either with popular rights activist, Chief Mike Loyibo or younger of the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief Dennis Otuaro.
The federal government had not debunked any of the reports.
NIGER DELTA TODAY can report that the development is now raising dust and creating tension as different militant groups have in the past cripple the nation’s economy if the government goes ahead with the decision.
But, rising from a meeting of militant groups in the region led by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) at the Benin River in Delta State, the militants warned the government not to go ahead with its plan.
A statement issued by RNDA’s leader, Johnmark Ezon-Ebi also known as Obama, urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to heed to pressures from politicians from the region seeking to remove Prof Dokubo from office.
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It stated that militants in the region are prepared to resume hostilities to cripple the nation’s economy with a well coordinated attack to all oil facilities and oil pipelines across the length and breadth of the region.
RNDA a coalition of nine militant groups that accepted the ceasefire agreement with the federal government to maintain peace since August 21, 2016, “vehemently opposed to the sponsored removal of Professor Charles Dokubo as the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.”
“We wish to call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno to ignore all the lies and falsehood allegations cooked, sponsored and being peddled by those being mentioned as replacements.
“The RNDA is deeply concerned about who handles the Amnesty programme because a lot of lives were sacrificed to gain the peace currently enjoyed in the region and would not sit back and allow hawks and self-centred personalities that are corrupt minded with no vast knowledge of conflict management to hijack the Amnesty programme which has been reshaped, repositioned transparently and sanitized under the qualitative leadership of Professor Charles Dokubo
“At this juncture the RNDA want to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for the appointment of Professor Charles Dokubo who is a bonafied son from the Niger Delta, a man with clean track record, no corruption toga on his forehead in the first place to pilot the affairs of the Amnesty programme which has brought sanity to the programme having displayed transparency and given it a new lease of life to the programme.”
