Believe it or not, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, does not joke with the Niger Delta. As a shrewd business man and political strategist ,he appreciates the critical role the Niger Delta region could play in the success or failure of his Renewed Hope Agenda.
As a region blessed with abundant Oil and Gas reserves , coupled with hundreds of dozens of restive youths who have continued to speak out over years of environmental degredation on account of years of oil exploration and exploitation by successive governments, President Tinubu, like his predecessors , regard the region as the heart beat of Nigeria. “No one jokes with Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region which unarguably is Nigeria’s cash cow.
For as long as oil and gas accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s annual income, this region will continue to be the life -wire of our economy’,said Jonathan Lokpobiri, President of the Ijaw Youth Council, at a public function recently. Appointed on March 14, 2024, as Chair of the Presidential Amnesty Programme ,and Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Niger Delta, Gbaramatu born Dr Dennis Otuaro, came highly prepared and equipped for his role as the official eye and ear of Mr President in the region.With daily oil production level which nose dived to below 1m bpd when this administration took over in May 2023, due largely to activities of oil theft and youth restiveness, hope is gradually returning to the region as latest daily production level has risen to about 1.8mbpd. Thanks to Dr Dennis Otuaro,who has been preaching peace in the region just as Tantita , the security outfit owned by Chief Government Ekpomuopolo aka Tompolo,have reduced Oil theft to its barest minimum . Otuaro seems to be steadily driving the wheel of the Presidential Amnesty Programme which is at its crucial stage of reintegration.In line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s strategy for sustainable peace, security and stability in the Niger Delta region, Otuaro has left no one in doubt that he means business and was prepared to deliver on Mr President’s mandate. His first assignment on assumption of duties was to embark on an extensive tour of the Niger Delta, where he has met with critical stakeholders and ex agitators.
These visits have proven the midas touch that have helped him unearth various grey areas which his predecessors had ignored. What has made his task even much easier is his humble disposition and the fact that he is a good listener and a great team player. Having drawn his priority list with an ambitious human capacity building agenda, the region is agog with Otuaro’s success stories. For instance, Otuaro has revived some moribund skills acquisition programmes , including specialised training in Aviation, Maritime , Agriculture and Aquacultre. Hundreds of dozens of hitherto restive youths in the Niger Delta have been wooed to embrace peace, thereby creating better prospects for their future. Below are some of the most critical interventions Otuaro has brought to bear since his appointment 18 months ago by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Expansion of educational opportunities in 2024/2025 as no fewer than 1,554 students were placed on onshore institutions, while about 15 were sent to institutions in UK, US and Canada. In a historic move, Otuaro has identified about 100 intractable documented conflicts which have been resolved through ADR. This is in addition to over 1,700 indigent students from the Niger Delta who were granted fully funded scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He also during the period under review ,sent 40 aircraft maintenance engineers with 39 on – the – job training. Also, some cadet pilots for type rating training were sent to South Africa . And mindful of the critical role of women in our society, the Presidential Amnesty Programme boss has promised to engage more Niger Delta women in the peace process and plans to roll out an economic empowerment scheme dedicated to women in the region . With these interventions by the boss of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be rest assured that the much desired peace in the Niger Delta can be guaranteed, it least for now, as Nigeria eyes a daily 2million bpd production .With Dr Dennis Otuaro in the saddle as Chair of the PAP, Mr President can go to sleep with both eyes closed.