President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Charles Quaker Dokubo, a professor, as the new Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former Niger Delta militants.
A statement by Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, said Dokubo replaces Paul Boroh, a retired army brigadier-general.
Dokubo is currently director of research and studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. He holds a PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, and hails from Abonema, Akuku-Toru Local Government of Rivers State.
The President directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to carry out a full investigation into the activities of the Amnesty Programme from 2015 to date.
The matters to be probed, the statement by Mr. Adesina said, include “allegations of financial impropriety and other acts that are allegedly detrimental to the objectives of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.”
Boroh was appointed to the position from which he has now been removed on July 28, 2015.
He replaced Kingsley Kuku, the former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, who also doubled as Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme.
At the time of his appointment, he was charged with the speedy resolution of hitches in the implementation of the amnesty programme, such as the non-payment of outstanding allowances to ex-militants.
Allegations of corruption and ineptitude have always dogged the Amnesty programme.
Kuku, who Boroh succeeded, was once summoned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on allegation of massive looting of funds meant for the amnesty programme.
He declined EFCC’s request to report for questioning on July 28, 2015 on medical grounds, promising to do so on September 30, 2015, but has remained outside the country ever since.
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