Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

Immediate past Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has said that the relative peace in the Niger Delta can only be sustained through a deliberate and genuine effort by the Federal Government to implement major components of the Presidential  Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Kuku, who spoke in a valedictory speech in Abuja, said that the Presidential Amnesty Programme, under his watch, has been able to implement the crucial phase of disarming, demolishing and reintegrating  (DDR) the ex-militants who signed up to the Amnesty Programme in 2009.

The presidential aide pointed out that while the DDR had been a success, the major task of developing the Niger Delta, which was the key demand of the agitators, was yet to be given serious attention by government.

Kuku explained that the success of the PAP had made it possible for oil production to resume in the Niger Delta while investors had begun to return to the area for business.