Dennis Otuaro has taken over as the new administrator of the presidential amnesty programme (PAP).
On March 15, President Bola Tinubu appointed the former executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to lead the programme which is aimed at tackling youth restiveness, the destruction of crude oil pipelines, oil theft, and insecurity in the Niger Delta region.
He was welcomed to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday by Ita Henshaw, the technical assistant to Barry Ndiomu, the former interim administrator.
Otuaro said his mission was to render quality service to the region without room for personal gain.
“First and foremost, I greet everybody here. I thank Mr. President for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve at this time. I need everybody’s cooperation here to take this programme to greatness,” he said.
“My appeal here is that, from today on, we should back the crowd and face the job. I need everyone’s cooperation so we don’t disappoint the President, the NSA, the people of the Niger Delta, and Nigeria as a whole.
“I believe in this country. Everything about me is in this country, and it is also in the Niger Delta. This assignment is for our people, for the country, and for humanity. We are bringing the programme closer to the people. We will not use it to pursue abstract things.
“We will streamline whatever we know that is giving us the load to provide excuses, we must streamline some things, and we’ll work together.
“I will not disappoint my people, I will not disappoint Mr. President and National Security Adviser who gave me this appointment. I am not here to pursue personal goals, I am begging everybody to be the same with me.”
The amnesty programme was initiated and signed into law in 2009, to stem youth restiveness, agitation, and ruination of oil processing infrastructure in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Part of the mandate is to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate ex-agitators back into society.
