Don’t turn the Amnesty programme into a campaign organisation — Passman tells Amnesty Boss
A popular Niger-Delta Activist, a social and political commentator, Passman Akpos has cautioned the Administrator of the presidential Amnesty programme, Chief Dennis Brutus Otuaro PhD. Not to turn the Amnesty programme into a political campaign organisation.
In a recent publication on the official Facebook platform of the presidential Amnesty programme, as obtained by Tarakirivoice, dated, 9th – August 2027 with the subject matter “2027: Niger Delta’ll Support Only Tinubu- PAP Boss” signed by Mr Igoniko Oduma, Special Assistant on Media to the Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme.
The statement reads “The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has declared that the Niger Delta will support only President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
He stated this in his remarks at the closing ceremony of the ‘Stream 1’ batch 3, three-day strategic Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation Training organised by the PAP for its stakeholders in collaboration with the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja, on Friday.
Otuaro reiterated that President Tinubu had genuine intentions for the Niger Delta and was determined to sustain the prevailing peace in the region while galvanizing development activities and socio-economic growth through his Renewed Hope Agenda.
He urged the people of the region to unite firmly behind President Tinubu’s second term ambition for the greater good of the area”
Mr Passman AKPOS, stressed that, the presidential Amnesty programme is not a political campaign platform but The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) was launched in 2009 by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Its main purpose was to de-escalate youth restiveness in the Niger Delta by providing a framework for disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of ex-militants. The programme aimed to bring lasting peace, stabilize the region, and boost oil production by transforming former militants into productive citizens through training, education, and rehabilitation.
The Activist reiterated that “Using the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) as a political campaign platform has serious implications, such as:
1. It risks turning the programme into a tool for political patronage and rent-seeking rather than peacebuilding.
2. This politicization can deepen dependency on government handouts instead of fostering genuine reconciliation and sustainable development.
3. It may prolong instability, as former militants or political actors could leverage threats of renewed violence to influence political outcomes and maintain the programme’s funding.
4. Mismanagement, corruption, and loss of public trust in the programme’s neutrality weaken its conflict resolution goals.
5. Ultimately, it undermines the long-term peace and development objectives the PAP was created to achieve in the Niger Delta.”
Passman noted, “Successive Government Administration has come and gone, but the Amnesty programme remains, as an Administrator of the presidential Amnesty programme is better you play the role of political neutrality, In Nigeria, predicting who will win an election is tough and often uncertain. Opinion polls before the 2023 presidential election gave mixed forecasts—some favored Bola Tinubu, others Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar—but the actual results didn’t always match these predictions. Factors like ethnicity, religion, regional dynamics, voter turnout, and traditional leaders’ influence, play big roles, making outcomes hard to pin down precisely. Also, polling methods often have flaws, and other unexpected events during elections can sway results.”
“If it happens that the person you were campaigning for failed to win the election you put the programme in a bad book in the eyes of the new Administration or president “
“I know, President Bola Tinubu appointed you as the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme on March 14, 2024 to replace the Former Interim Administrator, Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (retd). Your background as a PhD holder in Comparative Politics & Development Studies and your extensive experience from the Niger Delta Development Commission, is an added advantage, that, these things should not be strange to you.”
“It is not a bad thing to support those who appointed you, but there is a way you should do it that you will not offend anybody.”
“There are so many, that are crying in the Niger-Delta, especially Beneficiaries of the programme, that they are not satisfy by your leadership style in the presidential Amnesty programme, that is one sided, and asking them to support president Tinubu is like forcing hot iron through their throat.”
“My prayer for you is that you succeed so that the whole Niger-Delta and the Ijaws in particular will say our son you have done well.”
Apart from being an Activist, I am also a Camp leader and I have written so many correspondence to ratify issues in my camp, even BVN/Arrears payment are still pending in my Camp of which you refuse to do, even when you are attending to others who you feel are working for you. The only benefit I have gotten from you was a 1 billion Naira Lawsuit against me. This ongoing camp Leaders training, I pray it doesn’t end in few ones you feel are working for you.
This is just an advice, “I remain Passman Akpos, the Militant with a Pen”
God bless you:
