Amid protests by some self-acclaimed ex-militants over alleged exclusion from the amnesty programme, stakeholders in the Niger Delta, yesterday, passed a vote of confidence on the Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku.

This is even as some Niger Delta leaders accused some Niger Delta Development Commission, NNDC, leaders of sponsoring the protest to extort more funds from the Federal Government.

The Niger Delta leaders met yesterday to review the situation and concluded that the amnesty office had done creditably well.

Meeting on the platform of Niger Delta Grassroots Stakeholders Forum, NDGSF, the stakeholders gave Kuku a pass mark and urged him to continue the good work he was doing with the amnesty programme which had sustained peace in the once volatile region.

Interestingly, some ex-militants from the Niger Delta states joined in the meeting which was also attended by representatives of youth bodies, community-based organisations, cultural and traditional societies, community development associations, women groups, town unions, and student union government.

Some ex-militants had alleged exclusion from the amnesty programme, barricaded Abuja-Lokoja Road last week, subjecting travellers to untold hardship until they were dismissed by a detachment of soldiers.

In a statement by Obong Uyio Udosin from Akwa-Ibom State; Mr. John Duke from Cross River State; Chief Preye Bob-Manuel from Rivers State; Mr. Henry Sylva from Bayelsa State; Chief Ajuwa Timinimi from Delta State; Mr. Ehenede Omoruki from Edo State and Mr. Stephen Jegbeye from Ondo State, the group said the entire process of the amnesty programme was being executed in line with the prescribed global standards and international best practices.

They added that critics of Kuku were driven by selfish motives.

The statement said: “The amnesty programme success story has contributed greatly to the restoration of peace and security in the Niger Delta states and has uplifted the overall economic fortunes of Nigeria as an oil-producing nation.

“The Special Adviser to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme has managed and continues to manage the resources of the amnesty pro-gramme very prudently, in keeping with inter-nationally-acceptable extant guidelines.

“The unguarded out-bursts of certain indivi-duals is most unwarran-ted and unfortunate.”

The activities of those attacking the Amnesty Chief and their co-travelers are obviously been sponsored by persons who do not have the corporate interest of the Niger Delta people at heart, rather their own pecuniary selfish interests.”