By John Dugbe Ughelli
A NON-Governmental Organisation, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to appoint only credible persons from the oil rich Niger Delta region to head the Niger Delta Ministry and Amnesty Program as a way to giving hope to the people of the region.
In a statement signed by its coordinator, Comrade Sherriff Mulade, CEPEJ said that it was aware of intense pressure mounted on the President by vested interests to appoint their “candidates” into the two offices. The group urged President Buhari not to succumb to such overtures.
“CEPEJ believes that, appointing grassroots persons into the amnesty office and the Niger Delta ministry would bring the much needed impact and dividends to the communities; but if such positions are given to ex-militants and political jobbers as political patronage, it may provoke others to take on arms.
“We believe that appointing a thoroughbred to oversee the affairs of the amnesty office will go a long way at reshaping the programme and making it more result-oriented. The amnesty programme is a Greek gift, so we advise President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle head on the fundamental issues of deprivation in the region as it is the only way to engender ending peace in the region”, CEPEJ said in a statement.
It added, “We canvass the adoption of strategic action plans for the massive development of the region, since the present efforts by the Niger Delta Ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) are nothing to write home about”.
The group also urged President Buhari not to rush into the December deadline set by the Federal Government to phase out the programme, but to rather carefully study its modus operandi with a view to adopting effective and more pragmatic methods in discharging its functions.
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