Edo/Delta Ijaw Liberation Group has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, appoint Philip Gbasin, as successor to Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs to the President.

In a statement signed by Comrade Uruopa Samuel(chairman) and Comrade Aghagha Destiny(Public Relations Officer) the group said that its choice of Gbasin to succeed Dokubo was borne from the fact that he has the prerequisite educational qualification(a degree in Sociology and Anthropology obtained from the University of Benin and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism obtained from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Lagos).

The group also stated that it is now the turn of Edo and Delta States to produce the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme as other states in the Niger Delta region viz Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers have benefitted from appointment into the position.

Going further, the group mentioned the fact that Gbasin has a likeable personality trait coupled with his abhorrence of corruption stand him out of the pack as the right person for the position especially in consonance with President Buhari's zero tolerance for corruption.

"Following the recent suspension of the coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, by President Muhammadu Buhari over numerous allegations and petitions, it becomes imperative for we, the Edo/Delta Liberation Group, to critically look inward across the Niger Delta region to bring on board the most vibrant, competent, honest and God fearing man who can manage the affairs of the programme more effectively and efficiently to avoid tension in the region.

"Hon. Philip Gbasin is apolitical. Therefore, he will not play politics with the amnesty programme to the detriment of the people.

"He is a core frontier of the Niger Delta struggle. Also it is the turn of Edo and Delta States to produce the next coordinator of the programme," the statement read.