Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, has revealed his intentions not to stay in office any later than Friday, May 29, 2015, when the President hands over.
The amnesty programme which was inspired by the Musa Yar’Adua administration just may be getting a new boss soon contrary to reports that the chairman of the programme was lobbying to keep his position in the coming administration.
In shooting down the rumours, Kuku said the reports were mere speculation or were written by an over-imaginative writer and he added that such reports were the handiwork of political spin doctors who were getting very uncomfortable with his rising profile and were doing just about anything to tarnish and discredit the record of his service to the country.
His words: “As a Special Adviser and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, I served this country for four years and four months under President Jonathan. If it was an elected four-year term, the four months would have been a bonus.
“I’m however proud of my achievements and for lifting the amnesty programme beyond what I met on ground. I’m leaving this office 200 per cent better than what I inherited. I therefore challenge my successor to better my record.
“On May 29, I will leave with President Jonathan. I will continue to focus on my peace and conflict resolution assignments, which this job has placed on my shoulders. I remain undeterred by those embarking on this smear campaign against my person in order to discredit the work we have done for this country. My advice to all those doing hatchet jobs, particularly for some persons in the Niger Delta, is for them to retrace their steps.
“I also advise the APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to save his breath and his strength for the job ahead of him rather than responding to every illiterate comment,” Kuku concluded.
