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… As Amnesty Beneficiaries Applaud Buhari on Empowerment
By Our Reporter
But for the intervention of ex-agitators present, aides of the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, would have descended into a fist fight during the Presidential Amnesty special empowerment programme for people in crisis impacted communities in the Niger Delta, held at Jackreece compound, Buguma in Asari Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State recently.
Trouble reportedly started when the special assistant on media to the coordinator, Mr. Murphy Ganagana, walked into the venue with reporters of some television stations. After the reporters had interviewed some beneficiaries of the programme, as well as the media aide himself, he refused them conducting a similar interview with the personal assistant to the coordinator, Mr. Monima Alabraba, who had showed up and requested to be interviewed also.
According to our reporter, “This did not go down well with the personal assistant, who felt humiliated. The visibly angry Alabraba started shouting and moving towards Ganagana, saying that the media aide cannot to take the glory of a programme he had laboured to organize, and that the coordinator who travelled outside the country had authorised him to represent him at the function.
“His loud voice attracted the manager of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Rivers State Liaison office, Alabo Fenibo M.M. Jack, other top officials of the Amnesty office and some ex-agitators, who rushed to where the interview was being conducted,” our reporter said, adding that but for the quick intervention of the officials and ex-agitators, who brought the situation under control, the duo would have engaged in a fisticuff.
Twenty minutes later, the officials of the Presidential Amnesty office, hurriedly rushed to their waiting vehicles and left the town even though the occasion had not started. The officials could not stay to supervise the distribution of the empowerment items to the beneficiaries.
We gathered that the officials left the town because they had intelligence report that some aggrieved youths were planning to ferment trouble at the venue of the occasion and that the town was tensed up.
However, this did not stop beneficiaries at the event from expressing their gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and PAP coordinator, Prof Dokubo for empowering them, describing it as a symbolic gesture that was much appreciated by the people of the three Kalabari speaking local government areas of Rivers State.
Hon. Labomie Don Pedro, from Akuku Toru Local Government Area in a chat with newsmen, said he believed that the programme would help address youth restiveness in the area.
“First of all, I thank Mr. President and the coordinator for this thing they have done for the youths of the three Kalabari local government areas.
“We are happy to have this kind of equipment because some of us are welders, tailors and fashion designers. It will give us encouragement to have a job to do in our normal fields.
“I believe this would help address youth restiveness. You see, majority of us are handwork men but we don’t have work tools to do our businesses. So because of that, we go into restiveness issues. But with the provision of these equipment, we can come back to our normal jobs and it will take us away from going into restiveness,” he stated.
Another beneficiary who said she is a welder, Mrs. Nimi Briggs, noted that the gesture would go a long way to alleviate her sufferings, considering the incessant power outages in the area.
Mr. Sogbeye Dokubo, who is a poultry farmer, stated that the empowerment programme would impact positively on his life and business.
“Honestly, first and foremost, I have to thank the Amnesty office for this empowerment and of course as a young man, it is going to impact positively on my life and business. It’s also going to help my children positively. I am into poultry business, so when I receive the generators, it is going to impact positively on it because in poultry business, we need generator for heat production. Once again, I thank the Federal Government.
The special assistant on media to the Amnesty coordinator, Mr Ganagana, who was interviewed earlier, had said that the Amnesty office was in the area to empower 250 persons in Buguma community and its environs.
He said among the beneficiaries were men and women drawn from communities where a leader of ex-agitators, Chief Sobomabo Jackrich, also known as Egberi Papa, had camps.
He further said that items, which included 250 Sumec generators, 16 high capacity Omaha generators, sewing machines and accessories, wooden tables, welding machines and engine oil, were distributed to the beneficiaries.
“The starter packs are to enable the beneficiaries set up businesses in their respective trade areas in an empowerment drive aimed at engagement of ex-agitators enlisted in the Presidential Amnesty Programme as well as residents of communities in the Niger Delta impacted during the period of armed agitation.
“Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, said though his mandate was to train and empower beneficiaries captured in the database of the Programme, it was imperative to offer assistance to residents of crises-impacted communities towards deepening peace in the Niger Delta.
“This is a special empowerment for people who are not among the 30, 000 beneficiaries captured in the Presidential Amnesty Programme; it is meant for people in crisis impacted communities in the Niger Delta. It is to demonstrate that the Amnesty Programme is indirectly for all the people of Niger Delta and we care for you,” he said.
While urging residents of the communities to avoid violence and support the Federal Government to actualize sustainable peace in the region, he warned recipients of the starter packs against selling the items, but to make judicious use of them to better their lives.
“This is the fourth time residents of communities impacted during the Niger Delta crisis are being empowered by the Amnesty Programme since Prof. Dokubo assumed office.
“Thousands of persons drawn from various communities in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Cross Rivers, Imo, Ondo, Akwa Ibom and Abia states got various items as starter packs in February, 2019 in Warri, Delta State; Opukiri, Ogwashukwu, Abonnema and Degema. Others include Auchi, Edo State; Yakkur/Calabar South, Cross River State; Eket/Ikot-Ikpene, Akwa Ibom State; and Ohaji Egbema/Owerri in Imo State; Ilaje/Okitikpupa, Ondo State, as well as Ukwa East/West and Umuahia North/South, Abia State.
“So far, over 2000 persons have been empowered from March 2018 to date. And we would continue to do that because that is the only mandate that we have. We don’t have any other thing to do other than to train and empower beneficiaries of the amnesty Programme.
“We believe that this will cause the peace process we are trying to enthrone in the Niger Delta. Essentially, what we’re doing is to deepen peace in the region,” he said.
