The Niger-Delta Environmental Justice Coalition has dismissed allegations against Dr. Dennis Otuaro, Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), calling them baseless and misleading. The group, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Comrade Abalagha Adawari on May 20, 2025, said the accusations made by a group identified as the Warri Media Group were aimed at sowing division and disrupting peace in the region.
Adawari described the Warri Media Group’s claim that Otuaro’s participation in the remembrance of Major Isaac Adaka Boro in Warri was a “provocative overreach” as an effort to distort history and promote ethnic tension. “Major Isaac Boro, a revered nationalist and son of the Niger Delta, fought for liberation and justice for all Niger Deltans. His legacy transcends ethnic boundaries,” he said. “To suggest that his remembrance in Warri is an act of provocation is not only absurd but an attempt to rewrite history.”
He stated that commemorations of Major Boro’s legacy are not confined to any specific area, and no group holds exclusive rights to such observances. “Every Nigerian has the constitutional right to assemble and honour national figures anywhere in the country,” Adawari said.
On allegations that Dr. Otuaro did not support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 general elections, Adawari dismissed them as false and a reflection of poor journalistic practice. He said Otuaro “tirelessly campaigned across the creeks and communities of the Niger Delta,” and continues to demonstrate commitment to the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda through his work at the PAP.
He also addressed claims that Otuaro sponsored protests over alleged interference by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s delineation exercise. Adawari said the allegation “has no iota of truth” and that Otuaro “holds the First Lady in the highest esteem.”
Responding to suggestions that Otuaro was involved in influencing INEC’s operations or had a role in the removal of Mrs. Edith E. Eyesan from her position as Executive Vice President, Upstream at NNPC Ltd., Adawari described the accusations as unsubstantiated and politically motivated. He added that such statements were “reckless fabrications designed to incite ethnic tension.”
Adawari reaffirmed the PAP administrator’s commitment to peacebuilding, reintegration, and empowerment efforts across the Niger Delta. “No amount of blackmail or orchestrated media attacks will derail Dr. Otuaro from carrying out his responsibilities,” he said.
He urged Niger Delta leaders and civil society organizations to resist divisive narratives and protect the region’s unity. “Such attacks do not serve the collective interest of the Niger Delta,” Adawari stated. “We remain steadfast in our support for Dr. Dennis Otuaro and the work of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.”im of inciting crises among Islamic scholars in Kano,”
