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Dokubo seeks support from relevant organisations to make amnesty programme effective

By Olamilekan FAWAS

Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Prof. Charles Dokubo, has underscored the need for relevant organisations to collaborate with the programme to ensure effective and efficient service delivery of its mandates.

Dokuboh said this while speaking at the flagship programme of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Forum, in Abuja.

He said if relevant agencies could collaborate with the programme, the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme would be economically empowered to be independent of government’s stipends.

“I believe that if arrangement can be made with various organisations on how to accommodate some of these trained ex-agitators, they could be taken up to assist the amnesty programme and also walk to earn a living.

“I came into the office at a period when they have done most of the demobilisation of the programme, so what the organisation was facing was the reintegration aspect of it.

“`That is my motive and my drive for the programme; how do we reintegrate those who have been trained and empowered?

“How do they get job to do, so that they could fit into the system and could contest for job in whatever situation they find themselves.

“Because most of them are so qualified or over qualified from those we have trained or send abroad,” he said.

He further noted that not every ex-agitator could be an academic, saying there are also vocational programmes that most of the beneficiaries have participated such as farming, welding and other ICT repairs.

Dokubo said most of them have been trained by some groups of experts on skills acquisitions and were also employed.

“Definitely, it has imparted on them, but we also still believe that there is a lot to be done, because not everybody has gone through this process.So, we still have a process of checking those who have not been trained, checking out those who have not been imparted and also trying to give them the basic training.

“Even those who have been trained before; there is also a policy of retraining; because of the new things that are emerging; just to ensure that they could adapt to new technology and others.

On the challenges, he said that on his appointment, a committee was set up to review the amnesty programme and make recommendations.

“Immediately, I was appointed, I set up a committee to review the amnesty programme and from there we have seen shortcomings and challenges, these are the issues that I’m addressing, especially training and retraining.

“And also cutting out waste from the programme, the programme was somehow unwinding, but I’m trying to put everything into perspective.

“I’m trying to run it in such a way that it is effective and efficient and that it goes directly to those who are supposed to get the benefit of this programme.

Dokubo, however, identified multiplicity of issues that should be handled by a unit in the agency being handled by multiple units within the same agency, saying this has been streamlined.

“Now you can look at a particular unit and know exactly what they are doing; if you look at offshore education you look at what they are doing, how school fees and stipends are being sent to the students so that they don’t go into problems any more,” he said.

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