The Member representing Ideato Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, has described the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, as the best coordinator in the history of the programme.

Ugochinyere said Otuaro’s leadership had transformed PAP from a largely stipend-driven intervention into a platform focused on education, professional training, entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.

The lawmaker, in a statement on the performance of the programme under Otuaro, said the Administrator had demonstrated that sustained investment in human capital remained critical to securing the future of the region.

According to him, Otuaro’s tenure since assuming office in March 2024 had been marked by a deliberate shift towards education, professional training, entrepreneurship, reintegration and peacebuilding.

Ugochinyere particularly cited the expansion of PAP’s scholarship programme, noting that thousands of beneficiaries had been deployed to universities across Nigeria, while opportunities for postgraduate studies abroad had also been expanded.

He said the academic performance of PAP beneficiaries further demonstrated the impact of the programme in developing a new generation of professionals from the Niger Delta.
The lawmaker also commended Otuaro for creating opportunities for beneficiaries in specialised sectors, particularly aviation and maritime services.

He recalled that 40 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers were deployed for specialised training and mandatory on-the-job experience, while cadet pilots received advanced aviation training in South Africa and Nigeria.

Ugochinyere also praised the revival of training programmes for 98 maritime cadets whose studies had been stalled for years in Poland, Vietnam and Sweden.

He described the intervention as an example of leadership that was committed to ensuring that beneficiaries whose professional aspirations had been interrupted were not abandoned.

Beyond scholarships and professional training, the Ideato lawmaker identified the restructuring of PAP’s beneficiary database as another significant institutional achievement under Otuaro.

He said 12,467 beneficiary records were verified, leading to the identification of duplicated, incomplete and obsolete records, while 9,253 records were updated and 3,215 new beneficiaries added.

According to him, the exercise had strengthened accountability and enabled the programme to better monitor its beneficiaries and scholarship obligations.

Ugochinyere also commended Otuaro’s emphasis on dialogue and conflict prevention, describing stakeholder engagement as an important component of the Administrator’s peacebuilding strategy.

He said the training of PAP stakeholders in alternative dispute resolution, mediation and leadership had strengthened the peacebuilding architecture of the Niger Delta.

The lawmaker said the most significant transformation under Otuaro was the increasing emphasis on building capacity rather than dependency.

“Dr. Dennis Otuaro has shown that the real meaning of the Amnesty Programme is not simply to pay stipends. It is to give our young people the education, professional skills, entrepreneurial capacity and opportunities they need to become productive citizens.

“That is why I make bold to say that, based on the measurable interventions we have seen, Dr. Otuaro has emerged as the best coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme since its establishment,” Ugochinyere said.