Ex-Presidential Amnesty students ask security agencies to investigate Niger Delta group


An association of ex-students of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, has urged security agencies to investigate a group which they said is being used as a vehicle to undermine the gains recorded under the scheme.

In a statement released on Sunday, the former leaders of the National Association of Presidential Amnesty Students, NAPAS, comprising beneficiaries of the PAP, condemned what they described as repeated and recycled lies by some unscrupulous elements hiding under the cloak of stakeholders, against the management of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, led by Dr. Dennis Otuaro.

The statement, signed by the immediate past President of NAPASA, Patrick Ipidei, was reacting to the recent activities of the Niger Delta Liberators and Ex-Agitators Forum, NDLEF.

Describing NDLEF as a fictitious group, Ipidei said that Presidential Amnesty Programme beneficiaries are known and documented and do not include persons aged 17 and below who were seen carrying placards in a protest organised against the management of the PAP in Abuja.

The former Presidential Amnesty Programme students noted that the protesters were residents of the Bwari area of Abuja who were organized to impersonate youths of the Niger Delta.

Condemning the activities of the “so called” NDLEF, the former Presidential Amnesty Programme students said, “We have watched with shock the repeated attack on the person of the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme by some self-acclaimed stakeholders of the PAP.

“While we are not against constructive criticism of any public office holder in the Niger Delta, we are appalled by the antics of a so called new group, Niger Delta Liberators and Ex-Agitators Forum, which assembled a group of Bwari residents to protest against the leadership of PAP on Wednesday.

“As beneficiaries of the PAP scholarship and as stakeholders, we have observed the 10-month leadership of Dr. Dennis Otuaro and we are convinced of his deliberate steps to reposition the PAP for greater productivity.”

The ex-PAP students noted that since he assumed office as administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Otuaro had been working for the development of the Niger Delta. They stressed that he had not departed from the objectives of making the programme more responsive and effective in peace sustenance in the Niger Delta.

According to the ex-PAP students, it had become very clear to all reasonable people that the attacks on the leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme were being sponsored by blackmailers with selfish intent.

They declared that the recurring situation where some persons were sponsored to blackmail successive leaders of PAP must stop.

While commending President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for taking the appropriate decision to appoint Otuaro, they called on security agencies to investigate the so called NDLEF, their sponsors, and motive.

In the same vein, the ex-students, led by Ibidei, noted that the PAP administrator had done very well in the past 10 months and should not be distracted by blackmailers.

“Dr Dennis Otuaro has recently concluded the deployment of 1,700 students under the PAP scholarship scheme. We are aware that this exercise is one of the most holistic and transparent since the programme commenced the scholarship scheme.

“This particular Administrator has taken over pilots undergoing training, and initiated others under the vocational training unit of the agency. Payment of stipends to our members across the region had been smooth. We have not had it any better.

“We are also aware of the various productive engagements with critical stakeholders, involving the delegates of the various phases, traditional rulers, youth leaders, women groups and others to deepen peace in the Niger Delta.

“We therefore call on Dr. Dennis Otuaro to be resolute and ignore groups whose motive is to distract him from the set goals of his administration and create the impression of crisis in the region.

“We feel that the recurring situation where faceless groups are sponsored to blackmail successive leaders of the PAP for selfish reasons should stop.

“We also commend the President and the Office of the National Security Adviser for making the right decision to appoint Dr. Dennis Otuaro to lead the PAP.

“We call on security agencies to investigate the so-called Niger Delta Liberators and Ex-Agitators Forum and their leaders who have sustained cyberstalking against the leadership of PAP,” the statement added.





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