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The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has said that President Bola Tinubu is very strategic in his approach to addressing the issues of development, economic growth and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.
Otuaro spoke at a town hall meeting with PAP stakeholders and Niger Deltans residing in Lagos, hosted by prominent Niger Delta activist and Founder/President of Ijaw Monitoring Group, Chief Joseph Eva.
According to him, Tinubu’s strategy as captured in his Renewed Hope Agenda, is working for the Niger Delta, and could be seen in his deliberate effort at tackling the challenges of development, security and sustainable peace in the region.
According to him, the President’s administration has not only restored peace in the area, but also delivering on his campaign promises around human capacity and infrastructure development for the area.
Otuaro said the solid support of the president, and the National Security Adviser for the PAP, is responsible for the expansion of the scholarship scheme and other milestone achievements the programme has recorded in vocational training, peace building and stakeholder engagement.
He told the stakeholders that while in-country scholarship deployment was 3,800 in the 2024/2025 academic year, the figure increased to 3,900 in 2025/2026 and foreign scholarships were about 200.
He assured them that the PAP, under his leadership, would continue to do its best to ensure that more indigent youths were provided access to higher educational attainments with requisite skills and knowledge for self-reliance and nation building.
The PAP boss stressed that human resource development was pivotal to the socio-economic advancement and development of the region’s people as well as sustainable peace and security.
While thanking the president for not holding back support for the PAP, he re-assured the stakeholders that Tinubu would do much more for the region after his reelection in 2027, and urged them to reciprocate his large-heartedness.
He said: “One of the things you must know about His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is that he is very strategic and systematic in his approach to resolving issues of development, socio-economic growth, security and sustainable peace in our region- the Niger Delta.
“You all can see how Mr President’s deliberate approach is producing positive results in our region. There is no doubt that Mr President’s strategy is working for the Niger Delta.”
“This applies to the huge support that he has been giving to the Presidential Amnesty Programme under my leadership, for which we are very grateful.
“Because of His Excellency’s massive backing, we have been able to expand the programme’s scholarship scheme, and it is our strong hope that more students of indigent backgrounds from impacted communities will benefit from the initiative. We will also continue to strengthen our policy of inclusivity.
“I want to, again, thank His Excellency for finding me worthy for appointment; to take up the baton of leadership at the PAP with the help of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who has been very supportive of our initiatives since I assumed office.
“I urge you and all the people of the Niger Delta to continue to support the administration of Mr President because we are confident that, judging from the many good things he is doing in our region, he will do even much more for us after his reelection in 2027.”
In his remarks, the host, Chief Eva expressed confidence in the PAP administrator’s leadership ability, and commended him for the remarkable achievements the agency has recorded under him.
“I am not surprised because I have known Dr Dennis Otuaro very closely for many years, and the values he stands for. He is a very focused person.
“Indeed, Dr Otuaro has achieved a lot in human capital development, vocational skills and peace building process for our region. We have confidence in his leadership, vision, and dedication to regional development,” Eva said
The highpoint of the town hall meeting was the conferment of ‘Best Iconic Administrator Award’ on Otuaro by the stakeholders.
Among other notable stakeholders in attendance were the Chairman of
Ijaw National Congress, Lagos chapter, Prince Tonye Harry; Prof. Dauphin Moro, Engr. Titus Posibi, Chief (Mrs) Amarian Benedicta, Chief (Mrs) Ogbogbo, Evangelist Agboro, Chief Emmanuel Fiawe, Robert Fiawe, Elder Regent Youmor, Mrs RoseMary Aluko, and the Chairman of IYC, Lagos chapter, Comrade Owen Naphatin.
