Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has denied rumours making the rounds that he was plotting to stay on as head of the organisation beyond May 29.
Kuku, who is the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, made the clarification following strident calls by some influential individuals and groups from the region on the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to scrap the programme.
Kuku, in a statement made available by the Head of Media and Communication in the PAO, Dan Alabrah, made it clear that he was returning to his village in Ondo rather than plotting to continue service under the new government.
“The chairman wishes to disappoint the plotters as he is not interested in continuing in that office, more so as his boss, President Jonathan, is leaving office on May 29, 2015. As the President is returning to Otuoke in Bayelsa State, Kuku is also going back to Arogbo, his Ijaw community in Ondo State.
“Having diligently served Nigeria for four years, it is time to move on. He is very proud of his achievements under the Amnesty Programme, which is domiciled in his office as Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.
“No amount of mudslinging, blackmail and campaigns of calumny can erase the spectacular and verifiable achievements recorded by the Amnesty Programme under the Jonathan administration.
“The programme remains one of the shining legacies of the outgoing administration and it will continue to maintain its place as one of the pillars of Nigeria’s economic sustenance and survival”, Alabarah said.
