Col. Milland Dikio.
By Our Reporter
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Retired Colonel Milland Dikio as the Interim Administrator of the Amnesty programme.
According to the President’s spokesman, Dikio’s appointment is with effect from August 21.
In a related development the president also approved the disengagement of Professor Charles Dokubo from office as the Coordinator of the Programme.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, announced this in a statement on Thursday.
He noted that the disengagement of Professor Dokubo from office was with immediate effect.
He added that Professor Dokubo has been directed to hand over all official matters to the most senior officer of the programme.
President Buhari appreciated the services of the sacked Amnesty Programme chief to Nigeria and wished him the best in his future endeavours.
Professor Dokubo, a former Director of Research and Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, was appointed by the President in March 2018.
He replaced Retired Brigadier-General Paul Boroh who was sacked over allegations of financial impropriety and other acts in the programme under his watch.
Barely two years later, Professor Dokubo was suspended by the President in February 2020, on the recommendation of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Retired Major General Babagana Monguno.
The NSA had up a caretaker committee to investigate the activities of the programme following numerous allegations and petitions surrounding the programme.
Part of the committee’s task was to ensure that allocated resources were properly utilised in consonance with the Federal Government’s objective of alleviating problems in the Niger Delta region and stamping out corruption in the programme.
It was also directed to review and oversee the running of the programme, with a view to ensuring that the government objectives were achieved.
