Stakeholders denounce call for Amnesty programme

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Some stakeholders from the Niger Delta region have appealed to ex-agitators to give the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) time to function and fulfil its mandate while describing the demand for the sack of the Administrator of the Programme, Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaru, as mischievous, ill-advised, null, and void.”.

According to the stakeholders led by the foremost former freedom fighter and co-founder of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Chief Ebikabowei Victor-Ben, also known as General Boyloaf, the people of the Niger Delta region are grateful to the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, for appointing a product of the struggle as the leader of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Boyloaf, in a statement issued on Wednesday, urged the Presidency to shun and disregard those he described as unknown elements and faces trending on social media who are behind the call for the sack of Dr Otuaru, stating that those behind the call do not have the locus standi to make such calls.

“The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established for specific leaders and stakeholders and not for the entire Niger Delta region; rather, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) were both established to cater for the region.”

He noted that it is shocking and distasteful that these “unknown and faceless persons behind the call for Otuaru’s sack were silent during the tenure of Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd.), the former Amnesty Boss.

“Where were they when the previous administration messed up and bastardised the Amnesty Programme, and where are the billions of naira meant to empower beneficiaries through the Presidential Amnesty Programme Cooperative Society Limited bank accounts?

“Let me inform those involved and their sponsors that stakeholders in the region have unanimously declared our support for Chief Dr Dennis Otuaru as the substantive administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“He is qualified, competent, and most importantly, he respects the elders and key stakeholders in the Amnesty Programme. This is the time for everyone to move forward and support the Amnesty Boss to deliver on the Presidential Mandate for the Programme.”

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