By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The new appointed Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has vowed to build on the legacy of Major General Barry Ndiomu (retd).
Dr. Otuaro stated this at a brief handing over ceremony to bring to a close 18 months of the former Administrator on Monday.
Mr. Ita Henshaw, Technical Assistant to the former Interim Administrator handed over the notes to Otuaro.
In his remarks, Otuaro assured that he will not betray the trust reposed in him by President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
He said his mission in the Presidential Amnesty Office is to render quality service to the Niger region and the nation, stressing that there would be no room for failure.
Otuaro urged the members of staff to be focused and give him the requisite cooperation to move the office forward, while he also assured that he is not in the Amnesty Office to pursue personal gains even as he urged the members of staff to embrace his principle.
“I need everybody’s cooperation here to take this programme to greatness. My appeal here is as from today 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.
“We will streamline whatever that we know that is giving us the load to provide excuses, we must streamline some things and we’ll work together,” he stated.
It would be recalled that Tinubu had approved the appointment of Otuaro as Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme last Thursday.
Meanwhile, some Niger Delta youths have expressed optimism that Otuaro will raise the bar further to address the issues in the Niger Delta, as it concerns the PAP and the struggle to better the lives of beneficiaries.
They expect him to build on some initiatives of Gen. Ndiomu such as the resuscitation and training of Type-Rated as Pilots & Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, to the Presidential Amnesty Cooperative Scheme, and sustained scholarships, as well as many other flagship initiatives, Ndiomu’s contribution to the improvement of the lives of PAP beneficiaries remain indelible.
The Presidential 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. The mandate was to Disarm, Demobilize and Reintegrate ex-agitators back into society.
