The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr. Dennis Otuaro on Monday met with Niger Delta traditional rulers in Warri, Delta State, for an expanded stakeholders meeting.
The PAP boss expressed gratitude to the monarchs or their support for the President Bola Tinubu-led administration while briefing them of ongoing reforms in the Amnesty Programme.
According to Otuaro, the meeting was an expanded Niger Delta stakeholders engagement with traditional rulers, Opinion leaders, women groups, youth bodies, community leaders, elders and camp leaders in order to ensure peace as well as sustain the existing peace in the region.
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He emphasised that PAP has many areas of interest, ranging from education scholarship, vocational training, grant/loan, and many others.
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Describing traditional rulers and other interest groups as critical parts of the amnesty program, Otuaro revealed that the agency was working hard in expanding the program to accommodate more people to the 30,000 delegates already captured in the program, particularly traditional rulers, women groups, elders and youth bodies from the region as impacted beneficiaries.
Continuing, Otuaro said the federal government is also working to mop up communities in the region in order to retrieve small firearms from militia youths and incorporate them into the amnesty program so as to sustain the existing peace in the Niger Delta region in particular, and Nigeria at large.
In his reaction, the Pere of Akugbene Mein-Kingdom, Pere SP. Luke, the Kalanama Vlll, thanked the amnesty coordinator for his laudable initiatives in reforming the amnesty program to meet the ideals of the program.
He noted that they are very impressed by the reform agenda ongoing within the program, praying to God to give him the wisdom to pilot the affairs of the program to achieve its set goals.
On his part, the Ibenanaowei of Ogulagha Kingdom, HRM King Joseph Timiyan, who is the Chairman of Delta ljaw Traditional Rulers Council, described Dr. Dennis Otuaro was one of the best coordinators appointed by the federal government since the inception of the programme.
While HRM, Justice FF Tabai, the lbenanaowei of Tuomo Kingdom advised the amnesty coordinator to focus more on the educational sector, especially the scholarship program so as to reform the mindset of the ex-agitators back to the society.
He appealed to the amnesty coordinator to always involve the traditional rulers in the activities of the program, promising to support him to deliver on the assignment given to him.
