Okafor Ifiebor/ Port Harcourt

Ex-agitators in Niger Delta under the aegis of Kalabari Indigenous Movement, Niger Delta Ex-agitators Forum, Niger Delta Ex-agitators Forum for Good Governance, Niger Delta Advocates for Peace, Progressive Youths Movement of Niger Delta and Concerned Aggrieved Youths of Niger Delta have protested against the call for the removal of Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

The protesters numbering hundreds with placards converged at the Rivers state Liaison office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in Port Harcourt.

The placards, some of which read; ” Dokubo is doing well, leave him alone”, Bayelsa, Kalabari is Ijaw”, “Don’t Destroy Ijaw Unity”, ” President Buhari we love you, do not pay attention to the enemies of Niger Delta”, ” Enough is Enough”, ” Amnesty is not only for Bayelsa”, ” Stop the pull him down syndrome”.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mr. Sepiribo Douglas, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the insinuations of the disgruntled politicians plotting the removal of Prof. Dokubo.

He said Prof. Dokubo did not deserve the call, considering that he is doing well and that he is eminently qualified..

“We are happy that our son has all it takes to occupy the position. He is an astute Professor, a think-tank, visionary and a pragmatist”.

Speaking further, he stated that within the one year of his appointment, he had cleared all indebtedness to ex-agitators and maintained regular and prompt payment.

“Since he became Special Adviser, he has promptly and regularly paid ex-agitators and has also brought out a laudable blue print to transform the lives of ex-agitators and the rural communities in the Niger Delta region”.

He also said for the first time, the Amnesty office had been decentralised to the states in the region.

He commended Prof. Dokubo for numerous achievements he has recorded in his one year anniversary and advised him to do more for the region in order to leave a legacy that Kalabari people would be proud of.

The leader of the group said they were not unmindful of the spurious protest in Bayelsa staged by faceless sponsors, who were power hungry.

He wondered why fellow Ijaw persons would be plotting to remove their own and queried whether Kalabari is not Ijaw.

He appealed to Ijaw elders and leaders to caution these individuals from Ijaw land scheming to remove Prof. Dokubo, for the sake of the unity of the Ijaw nation.

He congratulated President Buhari on his victory at the recently concluded Presidential election and assured him of the support of Kalabari people.

Responding, the Manager, Rivers state Liaison office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Alabo Fenibo M.M. Jack, promised to convey their letter to the Special Adviser in Abuja.

Jack, who was represented by the head of Administrative matters, Engr. Diepreye Robert, appealed to the protesters to be peaceful and law abiding.