“Otuaro Broke The Walls Of Exclusion In The Presidential Amnesty Programme, Moved The Operations Of The Programme From Abuja To The Creeks Of Niger Delta, Giving The People Unrestricted Access To The Programme And Opportunities”__

••••••••“Otuaro Brought Abuja To The Creeks And Opened The Door Of The Amnesty Programme To All Niger Deltans” — NDAPDEJ

By Comrade Freeborn Abraye
National Coordinator, Niger Delta Advocates For Peace, Development And Economic Justice (NDAPDEJ)

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has demonstrated a fundamentally different approach to administering the Programme by taking its operations and engagement closer to the people of the Niger Delta.

For years, many Niger Deltans had to undertake the long journey to Abuja simply to present complaints, seek clarification or engage with officials of a programme established principally to serve the people.
But Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro changed that approach.

Rather than keeping the Programme physically and administratively distant from the people it was established to serve, Otuaro has taken the programme straight to the Niger Delta creeks, and has moved stakeholders engagement into the communities and creeks of the Niger Delta, creating opportunities for beneficiaries and other stakeholders to directly interface with the management of PAP.

Otuaro did not merely sit in an Abuja office and issue statements about the Niger Delta. He moved the conversation to the Niger Delta itself.

That shift is significant because governance becomes meaningful when the people can access the institutions created to serve them.

According to Comrade Freeborn Abraye the National Coordinator of Niger Delta Advocates For Peace, Development And Economic Justice, the current approach taken by Otuaro represents an important effort to make PAP more accessible and responsive to legitimate concerns from across the region.

“For too long, Abuja was treated as though it was the only place where the Niger Delta could be heard. Otuaro challenged that pattern by taking the Programme closer to the people.”

“The people should not always be the ones travelling thousands of kilometres to Abuja before they can tell government officials what is happening in their communities. Government must also go to the people.”

“Otuaro brought Abuja to the creeks. He brought the Amnesty Programme closer to the communities and created a platform where people can present their concerns directly.”

The NDAPDEJ National Coordinator therefore urged Niger Deltans to judge PAP reforms on the basis of accessibility, transparency, inclusiveness and tangible impact rather than political sentiments.

Abraye further called on stakeholders to support constructive engagement with PAP management now that the programme has been brought to their doorsteps.

According to him, bringing PAP closer to the people represents a departure from an administration model in which communities could feel physically and institutionally disconnected from the Programme.

“The era when the people had to feel that Abuja was too far away to hear their cries has given way to a new era where the PAP officials are prepared to listen to the people at the grassroots level. That is the essence of people-oriented governance,” Abraye declared.

He maintained that the real test of the Presidential Amnesty Programme is not how loudly its achievements are advertised, but how effectively the people of the Niger Delta can access it, participate in it and benefit from it.

“The Niger Delta does not need distant administration. It needs accessible institutions, responsive leadership and programmes that can be felt by ordinary people in their communities.”

“That is why the decision to take PAP engagement closer to the creeks deserves serious support from all Niger Deltans. Otuaro brought Abuja to the creeks to give the people unrestricted access to the operations of the programme.

Signed:
Comrade Freeborn Abraye
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Advocates For Peace, Development And Economic Justice (NDAPDEJ).