The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, in the Niger Delta region, High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has advocated against the rumoured mass protests allegedly billed for October 1 while reminding Niger Delta youths that "it is not time to be used again".

The PAP Boss issued the directive during the third day of the expanded stakeholders' meeting with ex-agitators in the region at The KFT Place in Warri, Delta State, on Friday, September 27, 2024.

The Administrator noted that past protests in the country had led to loss of investments, particularly as they scare away investors who are needed to create jobs and opportunities for the teeming populace.

He said, "On the regional peace, I will still appeal to you, we know there are many rumours here and there, some say they want to protest, some say October 1st, some say October 2nd. We are partners in progress. Those of us in this programme (phase one, phase two, phase three), we are not going to participate in any protests in this country. Those times that we have been protesting, all the investors ran away.

"So, it is our time to play our role to see that we attract more investors, it was our own private investment to attract more investors to this region. That is what we owe ourselves. That is what we owe our community. It is not time to be used again.

"Most of us still live on daily wage. Most of us, if we don't go out for the day, we cannot eat. Many people in this programme are dependent because there is no employment anywhere. That we know. We are not going to shut ourselves down... We will not be part of any protest in this region," he re-emphasised.

Dr. Otuaro therefore called on Niger Delta youths to give their maximum support to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration as the government is working hard to turn things around for the benefit of the generality of Nigerians, and particularly for Niger Deltans as demonstrated by the government's plan for upward review of the PAP budget and the re-award of the East-West Road.

"On the national front, we know that there are some economic challenges, which I know we will fix very soon. So my appeal to you, ladies and gentlemen, my brothers and my leaders, my appeal to you is to continue to give me your support, give Mr. President your support.

"I want to reassure you that Mr. President is really interested in our budget review. That in the 2025 budgetary year our budget will be reviewed upwards to accommodate more stakeholders that were not carried along because as an Office, when we have a platform like this, we are not going to wait until we will go back to violence before we will engage everybody. It is an ongoing process.

"The President has done good work towards the development of the Niger Delta, especially the issue of our East-West road. He has re-awarded the contract to the Chinese government. The Chinese firm, which by the grace of God, through the office of the National Security Adviser, we experienced that they will start to work very soon," he assured.

The Administrator also appealed to stakeholders to be patient with the scholarship programme as the Office is working on measures for screening the large numbers of applicants who are more than 25,000, but assured that "Our people will be given the opportunity to acquire education" while he also promised to look into issues bordering on Bank's Verification Number (BVN) among other legitimate issues faced by stakeholders in the programme.

On the area of vocational studies, the PAP Boss disclosed that a different approach would be taken to discourage acts that are inimical to that form of empowerment, stressing that one of such approach would be "on-the-job training" for stakeholders already empowered but are yet to be established.

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