The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has appealed to stakeholders in the Niger Delta to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the president had initiated reforms under his Renewed Hope Agenda to revamp Nigeria's economy and also to fast-track development in the region.

Dr. Otuaro's appeal is contained in a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the PAP Administrator, Mr Igoniko Oduma, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

The PAP Administrator who was among keynote speakers at the Niger Delta Development Commission's (NDDC) Executive Management Engagement with Ethnic Nationalities, Youth Leaders and Selected Stakeholders themed, "Let Us Build Together", in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, reiterated the youth-friendliness of the President and love for the region.

According to Dr. Otuaro, the president's favourable disposition was the reason he appointed him as the PAP Administrator and Samuel Ogbuku as the Managing Director of the NDDC, among others.

He re-echoed his calls for the sustenance of peace and security in the Niger Delta and urged the youths to shun the proposed national protests on August 1, saying they should not allow any group of persons to force them to go back to the old ways.

Dr. Otuaro, who noted that the President was supporting the Programme tremendously to achieve its mandate for the region, also said that, in line with this, the PAP had designed a scheme to empower more than 1,000 youths in 2024 that had been engaged.

He stated that under the education policy of the programme, the Office would increase the number of scholarship beneficiaries to accommodate 500 Niger Delta students to study in universities.

Dr. Otuaro who is the Ibe-Uyadonwei of Gbaramatu Kingdom also disclosed that the PAP prioritizes women in its stakeholders policy, adding that the Office would in the nearest future hold a women summit to interface with the region's female folk.

He commended the NDDC for organising the sensitization meeting, and pledged PAP's readiness to partner with the interventionist agency.

Among dignitaries present at the event were Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; Chairman of Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong; national chairman of PANDEF, Emmanuel Ibok Essien; President of Ijaw National Congress, INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba; President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Jonathan Lokpobiri; Niger Delta female activist, AnnKio Briggs; Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo; the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Ayiri Emami, among others.

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