The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, has announced his intention to resign as head of the Presidential Amnesty Programme before or on May 29.

This followed calls by some Nigerians and groups on the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to scrap the programme.

Head of Media and Communication in the Presidential Amnesty Office, Dan Alabrah, in a statement quoted Kuku as saying that he would be returning to his village in Ondo rather than serving under the new government.

The statement reads in part: “The chairman wishes to disappoint the plotters as he is not interested in continuing in that office, more so as his boss, President Jonathan, is leaving office on May 29, 2015.

“As the President is returning to Otuoke in Bayelsa State, Kuku is also going back to Arogbo, his Ijaw community in Ondo State.

“Having diligently served Nigeria for four years, it is time to move on. He is very proud of his achievements under the Amnesty Programme, which is domiciled in his office as Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.

“No amount of mudslinging, blackmail and campaigns of calumny can erase the spectacular and verifiable achievements recorded by the Amnesty Programme under the Jonathan administration.

“The programme remains one of the shining legacies of the outgoing administration and it will continue to maintain its place as one of the pillars of Nigeria’s economic sustenance and survival”.