The campaign of calumny in recent times against the appointment of Chief Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro as the current Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, in the Niger Delta region is not unexpected, and in fact, doesn't come as a surprise to those familiar with the play of politics in the oil region that is often associated with the "Pull Him Down" syndrome mentality often embraced by such detractors.

The development reminded me of my early days as a new graduate, when I sought employment in one of the first generation banks. To my dismay, I was bluntly told on the submission of my certificate that it is the policy of the bank not to employ an HND graduate! Just like that, without even committing me to an oral or written interview to test my proficiency, I was butted out.

One had thought that the clamour for the removal of Dr. Otuaro from office would have been centered on poor performance or the way and manner in which he runs the PAP office. Instead, the reasons given by such traducers, which could best be described as baseless, clearly reveals the shallowness in the mental makeup of those opposing the current Administrator's stay in office.

Dr. Otuaro, a native of Gbaramatu Kingdom in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, is the first Deltan to head the Office of the PAP since it was established in 2009 by the administration of the then president Musa Yar'Adua (of blessed memory) during the era of armed agitation in the oil-rich but impoverished region.

Major General Godwin Abbe, who hails from Benin City in Edo state, and had served as a Military Governor of Akwa Ibom state as well as minister of Interior, was appointed as pioneer Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, a position he held from 2009 to 2010, while Air Vice Marshal Lucky Ochuko Ararile, who later became the Ovie of Umiaghwa-Abraka Kingdom in Ethiope-East Local Government Area of Delta state, was the first Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme inaugurated by president Yar'Adua on the 25th of June 2009.

In 2011, Timi Alaibe, a technocrat, businessman and politician from Bayelsa state, and former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was appointed as Special Adviser to The President on Niger Delta, while Hon. Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, a political and environmental rights activist, who hails from Arogbo in Ondo state, was appointed Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta and Chairman, PAP, a position he held from January 2011 to 2015 during the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration.

Brig Gen P. T. Boroh (Rtd) from Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, took over from Hon. Kuku when he was appointed in July 2015 as the Special Adviser to The President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator, PAP, by President Muhammadu Buhari. His tenure would end in March 2018.

Next was Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, an erudite professor of international repute who hails from Abonnema in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers state. He was appointed on March 13, 2018 by President Buhari as the Special Adviser to The President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the PAP.

On removal of Dokubo, President Buhari appointed retired Col. Milland Dixon Dikio, who hails from Mbiama in Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers state, as Interim Administrator of the PAP on August 26, 2020, and his appointment was renewed in 2021.

After Dikio's interim stay at the PAP, President Buhari appointed Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (retd), who hails from Odoni in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, as the interim administrator of the PAP, on September 15, 2022. He would hold office until Dr. Otuaro's appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 14, 2024.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Spokesman to President Tinubu, in a statement issued on Dr. Otuaro's appointment foreshadows the knowledge of the government on the new Administrator's wealth of experience, when the government said it "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."

The current struggle of agitation for a better Niger Delta, particularly for the oil bearing Ijaw communities in the region, has its bearing in Delta State. And since the inception of the programme, no Deltan has occupied the office of the Administrator, with Dr. Otuaro charting the path as the first Administrator to come from Delta.

The choice of Dr. Otuaro, who is not a new face in the Niger Delta struggle, to all well-meaning Niger Deltans should be applauded. The appointment of the current PAP Administrator, who has been a major stakeholder and whose contributions helped defined the struggle, is a plus and could even be described as the best thing to have happened in the history of the PAP. It is no longer news that the purpose of the PAP was derailed because of the introduction of politics on its leadership. That is the reason why issues upon issues have continued to bedevil the interventions of PAP that are well crafted with good intentions but poorly executed by greedy parties with self- or group-interest.

Fortunately, like a cartographer, Dr. Otuaro knows the pathways to the success of the PAP because he was in the grassroots' struggle. And true to the expectations of the presidency, Dr. Otuaro reiterated the purpose of his appointment at a workshop, which held in Abuja in early June 2024, and is aimed at rejigging PAP employees as well as fuel their drive to align with his vision for the programme in tune with its purpose, through collaboration as a team.

To sum up this article, I leave you with the following statement made by Dr. Otuaro from that workshop: “I know all the major stakeholders in the Niger Delta and don’t need intermediaries to engage with anyone. I am not here to make money. My passion is the peace, security, and development of the Niger Delta through the mainstreaming of ex-agitators and creating opportunities for them to become self-sufficient and independent."

I guess the above statement sums up what Niger Deltans should be expecting from the current Administrator of the PAP, the beginning of a new dawn that will rekindle the damaged hope of the people in the region. And so, Dr. Otuaro should be allowed to work and don't need any distractions from fifth columnists!

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