High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), has reassured stakeholders in the Niger Delta region that the Programme is in safe hands, and that his leadership understands their vital roles toward the sustainable peace, security and stability of the region.

Otuaro gave the assurance when he recently received a delegation of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) as led by its President, Comr. Jonathan Lokpobiri, on a courtesy visit in Abuja.

The Amnesty Boss Otuaro, who revealed that the PAP was at the critical phase of reintegration, reiterated his commitment to serve the people of the Niger Delta wholeheartedly, as he knew the task ahead of him upon his appointment.

"When I came into office, I knew the task ahead. I also know the roles of the Ijaw National Congress, IYC, our women and other organisations. That is why I usually say that this programme is in safe hands. This job is about our people. The office, under my leadership, also takes stakeholders engagement seriously," Otuaro said.

Earlier, the IYC, in a statement signed by the spokesperson for the IYC, Princewill Binebai, quoted Lokpobiri as stating that the scope of the PAP was expanding and should no longer be run with its current budget which had remained the same for many years.

The umbrella body of ijaw youths noted that the Programme still had a lot to do to ensure continued stabilisation of the region but argued that the present economic realities in Nigeria and emerging challenges in the region have made it even more compelling for more funds to be appropriated for the Programme.

The Council said it discovered after a careful assessment of the Programme that the dollar was exchanging for N120 when the PAP started, adding that there were sufficient justifiable reasons for the government to consider strengthening the programme with additional funds.

The Ijaw youths appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Ministers of Budget and Finance as well as the leadership of the National Assembly to see the need to make more funds available for the Programme.

The statement read in part, "As Ijaw Youth Council, we have done a careful assessment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the massive achievements that the programme has recorded over the years. However, our assessment showed that the Programme can no longer run effectively with its current budget because when it was conceived, the dollar was exchanging for N120.

"Today, this same Programme is still being run with the same budgetary provision of N65bn for a whole year. Currently, the dollar is exchanging for N1,700 and the funding of the programme has remained stagnant while the needs of the Programme are expanding.

"We, as Council, want to passionately appeal to President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Budget, the National Assembly, the Senate President and the leadership of the National Assembly to work together to improve the funding of the programme.

"There is so much that is expected from this programme because if the Niger Delta fails, Nigeria will pay more. The PAP is at the driver's seat of sustaining the peace in the Niger Delta. So the need to expand this Programme to accommodate more people is very important at this point in time."

Lokpobiri commended Otuaro for repositioning the PAP and for “bringing the Programme back to our people in the Niger Delta”, and further stressed that the Administrator's leadership role and his policy of inclusion had engendered stability in the region.

Lokpobiri assured the PAP Boss of the support of IYC and also thanked him for identifying with the youth body.

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