The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) was established in 2009 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the alarming issue of youths uprising in the Niger Delta region. Its primary goal was to de-escalate and defuse the youths restiveness that had engulfed and destabilized the oil-rich region over the preceding decades.
Be that as it may, the PAP was designed to provide a framework for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of ex-militants. The programme offered ex-militants the opportunity to surrender their arms in exchange for amnesty and rehabilitation. The intention was for a process of reintegrating ex-agitators into their communities, providing them with vocational training, education, and employment opportunities.
Since its inception, the PAP has made significant progress in achieving these objectives. According to available data, over 20,000 repentant militants surrendered their arms and ammunition to the Federal Government, and from the poll, many have benefited from the programme’s vocational training and education initiatives.
In an overall assessment, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has played a crucial role in promoting peace and stability in the Niger Delta region, and its impact continues to soar on a daily basis.
Dr. Dennis Otuaro’s leadership of PAP has so far been most remarkable in its breakthroughs and significant achievements, the developments which have overshadowed the baseless smear campaigns of corruption and wrongdoing from disgruntled elements. These allegations are nothing but frivolous tirades by individuals who are frustrated with Dr. Otuaro’s refusal to freely dole out the programme’s funds into their gapping empty pockets. Under Dr. Otuaro’s administration, the PAP has taken bold steps to prompt tremendous progress in its mandate to reintegrate ex-agitators into society, through various schemes. These achievements reeled out uninterruptedly since March 2024, aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They focused on peace-building, security, human capital development, and economic empowerment. PAP’s interventions have significantly contributed to the stability and sustainable growth of the Niger Delta region.
In firing the first salvo in the area of vocational training and economic empowerment, particularly aviation’s deployment of aircraft maintenance engineers for on-the-job-training (OJT), 40 AMEs were type rated on ERJ – 145 and CRJ–900/B737 aircrafts by Alom Aviation Services Limited. The engineers were deployed for their one-year mandatory OJT in March of 2024. It’s on record that 16 AMEs are currently undergoing their OJT at the 7 Star Global Hangar while 21 others are at Aero Contractors Limited. One is presently at King Airlines and Travels Limited. Four Cadet Pilots were deployed to SimAero Training Limited Johannesburg, South Africa for type rating on ERJ–145 and ATR72 – 500 on the 31st of May, 2024. They graduated and returned to Nigeria on June 30, 2024.
PAP had a caseload of two cadet pilots who completed their instrument rating course on AW139 at Henley Air Flight Training in Johannesburg, South Africa on 10th April 2024. Due to their outstanding performance at the instrument rating course, they were further deployed for their Type Rating Course on 29th May 2024 at Caverton Helicopters Limited in Lagos State.
In the maritime sub-sector, the fate of 98 Maritime Cadets whose training programmes were truncated in Poland, Vietnam and Sweden between 2011 and 2014 due to frequent change of leadership at PAP, elicited the sympathetic concerns of Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, who on assuming the saddle of leadership of the interventionist agency immediately ordered that the stranded citizens be sent to Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, in Delta State, to complete their programmes.
They were deployed for a Bootcamp/Refresher Course on October 30, 2024. The bootcamp training was essentially for the cadets to refresh their memories on the maritime training and for the maritime consultant to figure out which cadets are ready to go further for the mainstream maritime training. The bootcamp lasted for a month and was concluded on 26th November 2024.
For formal education component of the PAP, as a tool for implementing the reintegration phase of the programme, 2,200 students were successfully deployed onshore and offshore as beneficiaries of PAP’s scholarship grant for the 2024/2025 academic session, with 397 students as onshore and 378 students as offshore graduation milestones.
PAP has also partnered with the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority to boost massive agricultural activities and tackle food insecurity in the region. Furthermore, Dr. Otuaro has promised to involve more women in the Niger Delta peace process, ensuring the inclusion of more Niger Delta women in the implementation of the PAP mandate.
In a novel management approach, PAP under the leadership of Dr. Otuaro, embarked on series of stakeholders engagement fora aimed at strengthening relationships with key stakeholders, including Phase One, Two, and Three leaders, traditional leaders, women leaders, and other community representatives.
The engagement achieved the targeted outcome by bridging the hitherto yawning gaps between the PAP office and its critical stakeholders, enhanced collaboration, and sustained peace and development in the Niger Delta.
The 2024 PAP Stakeholders Engagement Summit specifically reinforced the importance of dialogue, collaboration, and inclusivity in sustaining peace in the Niger Delta. The event provided a platform to address key concerns, proposed solutions, and strengthened relationships between the PAP and its stakeholders.
To further enhance performance, PAP under the leadership of Dr. Dennis Otuaro, actively engaged in strategic partnerships with key government agencies to promote peace, security, and economic development in its mandate areas.
These partnerships were not just symbolic but they were packaged to yield practical solutions to long-standing regional challenges, particularly in the war against crude oil theft, workforce integration, counter-terrorism, and diplomatic collaborations.
In continuation of his collaborative efforts to secure synergy with identifiable development partners, the workaholic Administrator of PAP stormed the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team, led by Major General Jamil Jimoh. This well-thought out meeting was aimed at sustaining Nigeria’s improved oil production levels, which recently hit 1.8 million barrels per day. Combining intelligence sharing, security reinforcement, and community engagement, PAP and the military sought to curb illegal oil activities while ensuring sustainable peace in the region.
The agreement to strengthen communication and implement joint strategies underscored the necessity of a multi-stakeholder approach to tackling oil-related crimes.
Desired to secure a better future for the graduates of the various development initiatives of PAP and to strengthen the synergy with the nation’s civil service Dr. Dennis Otuaro held a crucial meeting with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dame Didi Walson-Jack. The meeting was conceptualised by Dr. Dennis Otuaro, primarily to integrate PAP beneficiaries into the national workforce.
Going forward in the fulfillment of its mandate, PAP is prioritizing the economic reintegration of ex-agitators by enhancing collaboration with the Federal Civil Service. During his meeting Dame Didi Walson-Jack, Dr. Otuaro emphasised the need for structured employment pathways for PAP beneficiaries. The goal is to bridge the gap between vocational training and real job opportunities, ensuring that individuals trained by PAP are absorbed into the national workforce.
Observers believed that this partnership would lead to better employment prospects, creating a more sustainable and peaceful Niger Delta by reducing economic frustrations that fuel unrest. Also, to strengthen counter-terrorism collaboration for regional stability and in recognition of the strategic importance of security in the Niger Delta, Dr. Dennis Otuaro initiated collaboration with the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).
His deliberations with Major General Adamu Laka focused on how counter-terrorism strategies could be tailored to address security concerns in the region, particularly as they concerned oil-related crimes and community conflicts. This partnership was in synergy with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and expectedly to enhance intelligence-sharing, early threat detection and coordinated security responses to ensure the safety of Niger Delta communities and the nation’s economic assets therein.
On the international front, Dr. Dennis Otuaro is also exploring foreign collaborations to enhance economic opportunities for Niger Deltans. During a courtesy visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, discussions centred on leveraging international partnerships to attract investment, enhance skill acquisition programs and facilitate global employment opportunities for trained ex-agitators.
The engagement reflected a practical approach to integrating PAP beneficiaries into global opportunities, ensuring that their acquired skills were not localised but profitable in the international arena.
To discernible minds, PAP’s recent engagements with strategic partners by Dr. Dennis Otuaro were not just ceremonial visits but reflection of a well-thought out, clear, actionable strategies to bridge security gaps, enhance economic empowerment, and build diplomatic ties for the Niger Delta.
Working closely with other state actors, especially those in the defense, civil service, counter-terrorism, and diplomatic corps, PAP is poised to guarantee that its mandate translated into an enduring and sustainable peace and security and development oriented.
These collaborations signal a new era of practical, results-driven governance, where strategic alliances directly impact the lives of those in the Niger Delta. Dr. Otuaro’s commitment to transparency and accountability is evident in his efforts to sanitize the system. He has refused to give “rain cheques” and free money to blackmailers – instead, he opted for a more structured and sustainable approach to development. This had ruffled the feathers of frustrated elements, who had previously undeservingly benefited from the programme’s funds.
Dr. Otuaro’s leadership has been marked by transparency, accountability, and commitment to the manpower development of the Niger Delta region. Dr. Otuaro’s efforts to reposition the PAP as an intervention agency have been most commendable.
He has in fact demonstrated a strong commitment to the programme’s mandate and worked tirelessly to ensure its success. The awards in recognition of his efforts at cleaning the Augean stable are legions and uncountable.
They come in torrents.
No group is left out- the ex-agitators in particular are very appreciative and full of gratitude to the new Sheriff in PAP. They are happy and elated that the money meant for them are not being siphoned and misappropriated by the greedy few as exhibited in the era of past leadership in the interventionist agency.
Abraham is a retired Naval Officer and Niger Delta-watch activist
