Otuaro: Advancing President Tinubu’s Agenda in the Niger Delta
By Julius Ogunro
The Niger Delta’s peace and stability are crucial to the economic well-being of Nigeria. The region is the primary home to Nigeria’s oil and gas exploration, and any large-scale insecurity often leads to disruption in the oil sector, causing a dip in production output and dwindling revenue for the country.
Lately, there has been an uptick in Nigeria’s oil and gas production, which has risen sharply to hit 1.81 million barrels per day. This is historic, as for years the country had suffered low production output, rarely meeting its OPEC quota, due to the activities of oil thieves and militancy in the Niger Delta region.
Now, the tide is turning. President Bola Tinubu’s multi-pronged approach to the decades-long crisis in the region is finally bearing fruit through head-on tackle of illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism and even more significant, strategic community engagements through appointed proxies to address age-old complaints of marginalization and lack of economic opportunities.
One of President Tinubu’s trusted surrogates working tirelessly to achieve the mandate of peace and stability in the Niger Delta region is Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). Appointed in March 2024, Otuaro took charge of the PAP to achieve the President’s dream of sustainable peace, security, and stability in the Niger Delta, knowing how crucial this is for the overall well-being of the country.
Otuaro’s strategy to achieve this lofty goal is by creating opportunities, especially in education and human resource development, to empower Niger Deltans with the skill and knowledge to participate actively in the national economy and therefore bridge the skill and manpower gap in the region.
Over seven months, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has embarked on several training programmes and human capacity development initiatives targeted at the ex-agitators, their family members, and other nominees. The PAP deployed four Niger Delta indigenes to South Africa to acquire requisite skills in the aviation sector earlier this year. It also recently trained 98 young men and women from the region in specialized maritime skills at the Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, Otomewo, Delta State. Many others have also benefitted from various vocational and post-empowerment training designed to empower them with the skills to earn an honest living.
Otuaro appears to understand the grievances that gave rise to the militancy in the region and working hard to address the underlying problems. The highlight of this strategy was the award of fully funded scholarships to indigent but deserving Niger Delta students recently. Over 1700 students were offered undergraduate and foreign master’s scholarships through an open, competitive, and merit-based process. The scholarship covers tuition and accommodation and provides a living expense for the entire duration of the beneficiaries’ programmes.
It was historic, being the first time such a large number of students would be benefiting from the PAP scholarship scheme. No surprise then that at the award ceremony in Warri, Delta State, it was commendations galore for President Tinubu and for Otuaro who is acting as the President’s outreach arm in the Niger Delta. The beneficiaries commended the President for the scholarship scheme, noting that without it their chances of university education would have been impossible. Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the event included Blessing Appollos (Bayelsa State, Igbinedion University); Fyneman John-Pere (Edo State, Edwin Clark University); and Ezekiel Appeal (Delta State, Novena University).
The PAP was established in 2009 to manage the reintegration of thousands of militants who dropped arms after being granted amnesty by the federal government. This includes the payment of stipends to the ex-agitators, continuous engagement with them and other community leaders to maintain the peace, and providing the support necessary for the former agitators to become productive members of society.
Over the years, the management of the Programme had been tempestuous, with violence breaking out in the region over one perceived infraction or another over the PAP or some other grievances. Sometimes, when this happens, it leads to sabotage of the oil and gas infrastructure, causing severe production loss with serious economic consequences.
However today, with the President’s surrogates like Otuaro, the peace in the Niger Delta is becoming enduring and bearing fruits in higher oil production output and more funds in the federation coffers. Now, Renewed Hope is not only a campaign promise but manifesting real-time in the Niger Delta.
