By Sebastine Ebhuomhan, Thursday Dec.04.25
ABUJA, Nigeria – When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Chief (Dr.) Dennis Brutu Otuaro on 14th March 2024 to administer the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), he had great expectations.
Twenty months on the PAP seat, Otuaro’s strategic reform aimed at improving efficiency, transparency and accountability have redefined the Programme’s impact in the lives of ex-agitators, impacted communities, youth and people of the entire region through quality education, human capacity training, and empowerment scheme, establishing the PAP as Niger Delta’s main vehicle of development; thus, making protest a thing of the past
The official announcement reflecting the president’s infallible wisdom underlined that Dr. Otuaro “had previously served as a top-level executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a surfeit of experience across multiple sectors, including infrastructure development, security, environmental remediation, as well as oil and gas.
“The President anticipates that the new Administrator will bring his requisite experience and know-how to this role to revamp the Amnesty Programme and advance the realization of its founding purpose and vision,” it stated.
In the beginning, it was about peace and security in the Niger Delta. Endless economic agitations in the region resulted in the continuous sabotage of oil and gas facilities, bringing down Nigeria’s crude oil production. The concerted effort to end agitation necessitated the presidential proclamation of Amnesty in 2009 and the surrendering of arms and ammunition by ex-agitators, whose disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration the Programme was established to achieve.
To properly reintegrate ex-agitators, the PAP was later restructured to pursue education (through local and foreign scholarships), vocational skills training, empowerment, peace building and conflict resolution, job placement as well as partnership development.
However, derailed vision, data infractions, irregular stipends, and other challenges dominated the narratives of the agency’s mandate and activities. It was so much that the media had field days covering endless protests at the gates of the headquarters, other offices in Niger Delta, and targeted venues of events involving the agency’s management and stakeholders.
Today, it is not just about peace and security but about the human resource development of Niger Delta people in the face of other remedial actions.
Twenty months on the PAP seat, Otuaro’s strategic reform aimed at improving efficiency, transparency and accountability have redefined the Programme’s impact in the lives of ex-agitators, impacted communities, youth and people of the entire region through quality education, human capacity training, and empowerment scheme, establishing the PAP as Niger Delta’s main vehicle of development; thus, making protest a thing of the past.
Chief (Dr.) Otuaro, PhD., the Ibe-Uyadonwei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, has a deep knowledge of the issues that fuelled militancy in the Niger Delta and an understanding of how to mitigate its impacts as well as address the issues. His strategy of inclusivity anchored on consultation, conflict-resolution, counselling, and collaboration is quietly yielding results beyond the noise and fanfare of the past.
Undoubtedly, his administration will go into the record books for the massive pursuit of education for Niger Delta youth. Under Otuaro, in-country scholarship deployment was 3,800 in the 2024/2025 academic year. The figure increased to about 4,000 in 2025/2026 with foreign scholarships also increasing to about 200. In the same period, quantum leaps were recorded in the number of beneficiaries for skill acquisition training, post-training empowerment and job placements with an assurance that the administration would continue to do its best to give more indigent youth access to higher education for requisite skills and knowledge of self-reliance and nation building for sustainable peace, security and development.
Nevertheless, staff welfare and work efficiency have been reviewed and improved since Otuaro assumed office.
With Nigeria’s latest crude oil production, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the International Energy Statistics (IES), indicating a monthly production of 1.610 million barrels per day (mbpd) as of November 2025, from 1.508 million barrels (or 6.76 percent increase) compared to the same period a year ago, despite a slight drop from the previous month, October’s 1.642 million barrels (or 1.95 percent decrease), the sustenance of peace and security in the Niger Delta achieved through Otuaro’s purposeful PAP administration is a catalyst for the Federal Government’s vision of stable national economy and a developed Niger Delta.
Reflecting on his decision, the expectations are being matched. Today, President Tinubu is very satisfied, proud, and confident of the future of Niger Delta and, particularly, the youth of the region and Nigerians benefitting from Otuaro’s passionate, transparent and accountable administration.
For these and more, Otuaro is thankful to President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for not relenting in their support.
“I want to, again, thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, 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.
“One of the things you must know about His Excellency, President 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 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 re-election in 2027.”
As 2027 draws closer, the people of Niger Delta must continue to trust, support, and walk along Otuaro’s progressive footsteps, unmatched passion, unequalled performance, and unrivalled leadership so as to ensure the continuous success of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
