How Jonathan shunned S/S govs, aide over Kuku


Written by Donald Ojogo
Sunday, 30 January 2011

The lull in the Federal Government’s post amnesty initiative, following the resignation of its erstwhile handler, Timi Alaibe came to an end on Wednesday, as President Goodluck Jonathan approved the appointment of an Ijaw youth leader, Hon Kingsley Kuku as his Special Adviser on Niger Delta Matters.

But the appointment of the former Ondo State lawmaker did not come on a platter of gold as President Jonathan was said to have shunned two South-South governors as well as a top presidential aide in their bid to have their preferred person to replace Alaibe who in December last year, resigned from his position to contest the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).

An authoritative security source told Sunday Tribune in confidence that President Jonathan was said to have made up his mind to divorce the position from partisan politics owing to the volatile nature of the Niger Delta region.

Repentant leader of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), High Chief Government Ekpomupolo as well as his sector commander, according to the source, equally advised against politicising the position of the post-amnesty driver, as they were said to have insisted that it should be taken away from the key states of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta in order to avoid needless interference from politicians.

The two governors, in conjunction with an aide of the president, Sunday Tribune gathered, had initially pushed for the appointment of a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) who is an aide of a chief executive officer of a federal government - owned agency but changed gear when it became apparent that the idea did not fly.

Consequently, they were said to have settled for a former senator from Bayelsa State who served in the upper legislative chamber from 1999 to 2007.

According to the source: “You know that the post- amnesty programme is a very critical issue which requires all dexterity. We thank God that the issue of the replacement of the former occupier has been settled with the appointment of that young man from Ondo State.

“Like any appointment, there were a lot of intrigues here and there but Mr President was prepared to take away the issue of post-amnesty from the politics of the region; you know what happened during the disarmament period where people took advantage of the programme to boost their political chances.

“This time around, I think Mr President succeeded in pulling it away from the forces of the region because he said anyone appointed should not only have a vast knowledge of the region but must equally be divorced from the intrigues of the region.

“So, proper vetting was carried out on some of those who showed interest in the job but the proper thing has to be done. For instance, if the president wanted to play politics with it, he would have merely taken one of the nominees from two of the governors from the region who had the backing of a close aide.

“And from the look of things, the ex-militants themselves are very desirous of peace as they insisted on a non-partisan individual to handle the post amnesty and the lot fell on Kuku who has been involved in the entire disarmament process since 2009.

“They made their inputs to the government which were very genuine and patriotic in all aspects and they followed up to ensure that the position did not go to a politician who could be easily influenced by his sponsors. They opposed the position going to Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta but unanimously went for Ondo State where Kuku comes from, in order to distance the post-amnesty programme from politics.”

Efforts to reach Ekpomu-polo, usually referred as Tompolo, were not successful but his aide, Paul Bebenimibo spoke to Sunday Tribune.

“The matter is a very sensitive matter, so, everyone must have to do what is right for the region if we have to live in peace in the Niger Delta. Whether or not the ex-militants played a role in the appointment of Kuku is not important. What we should find out is whether he is competent to handle the issue of postamnesty without political interference from any quarters”, he said.