Hilda Dokubo is not my staff or relative – Charles Dokubo

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Professor Charles Dokubo has clarified that Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Ms. Hilda Dokubo is neither his relative nor a staff of the Presidential Amnesty Office.

In a statement he personally signed and released to the media in Abuja on Wednesday, Dokubo said : “I have deemed it extremely important to clarify that since I assumed office as the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, I have not hired any person. In particular, I have not hired Hilda Dokubo in any capacity at the Amnesty Office and I don’t intend doing so. It is also not true that she is my relative. We are not even from the same Local Government Area.

“The Amnesty Programme is a classical Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Programme. All DDR programmmes are fluid and the only way you deepen and improve DDR programmes globally is through sharing experiences and lessons learnt. Hilda Dokubo has come to me to share her experiences while executing certain reintegration assignments given to her by past Coordinators of the Amnesty Programme.

“In the same regard, so many other persons who have been involved in the Programme since inception have also been coming to brief me and I have even visited those I deemed important to learn a few things from. I really do not know why people now go about saying Hilda Dokubo is my staff or relative,” Dokubo reiterated.

It could be recalled that on Tuesday an advocacy group, Niger Deltans for Accountability and Good Governance (NDAGG) disclosed that it has uncovered plot by persons it described as “unscrupulous contractors and enemies of the Niger Delta” to distract and possibly defocus the newly appointed Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and vowed to do all that is legal and within its powers to thwart this plot.

The Spokesperson for NDAGG, Barrister Claudius Egba in the Statement dismissed a recent publication by another group, ‘Trained Agitators Forum’ alleging that the new Coordinator was allowing a relative of his to wield powers at the Amnesty Office as false and misleading. “First, we must clarify that there is no such group as Trained Agitators Forum. It is just a creation of some disgruntled contractors and enemies of the Niger Delta, who are not happy at the decision of the new Coordinator to review the huge and un-performing contracts awarded by his predecessor, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (Rtd). They want business as usual but the new Coordinator assured us that he will never allow that and we believe him and totally support his decision to carry out a holistic review of the huge contracts awarded by his predecessor,” the NDAGG Spokesman said.

The NDAGG Spokesman also refuted reports that renowned actress and movie Producer, Ms. Hilda Dokubo was “running the activities” of the Amnesty Office. “