Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, has described the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Hon. Kingsley Kuku, as a responsible man of good character, with a sterling record as a promoter of peace in the Niger Delta and the country at large.
Senator Abatemi-Usman made the remarks in Abuja when asked by journalists to comment on the recent statement credited to Kuku that there will be war if President Goodluck Jonathan is not re-elected in 2015.
In the words of the Senator, “When I read the media reports that Hon. Kingsley Kuku, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Amnesty Programme said in the US that there will be no peace if Nigerians fail to re-elect Jonathan in 2015, I knew, even before his denial, that he could never have made such a pugnacious statement. I say so because this is a man I have interacted with closely in the past two years, as Vice Chairman of the Committee that oversees the amnesty programme. Kuku has always shown great commitment and dedication to the sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria in general. He
has also displayed impressive leadership qualities in the coordination of the amnesty programme involving 30,000 ex-militants. There is no way that such a man, who has proved himself to be tolerant, peace-loving and highly responsible, would turn around to call for violence for any reason whatsoever.”
Urging all Nigerians to embrace peace in the interests of the country’s unity, Senator Abatemi-Usman vowed that the Niger Delta Affairs committee in the Red Chamber will continue to support and work with Kuku, in the mission to ensure lasting peace in the oil-rich region.
