Niger Delta Groups Demand Sack of Amnesty Boss Otuaro

A coalition of civil society groups and contractors from the Niger Delta has launched a blistering attack on the leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, calling for the immediate removal of its administrator, Dennis Otuaro, over alleged non-payment of contractors and worsening hardship in the region.

The coalition under the auspices of the Voice of Niger Delta and Niger Delta Fishermen and Seafood Association, made their position known at a tense gathering in Abuja, where speakers painted a grim picture of economic distress, mounting debts and social instability.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, its president, Ambassador Mrs Ebierebo Success, accused the programme’s leadership of gross mismanagement and warned of dire consequences if urgent action is not taken.

“I’m a presidential amnesty contractor. We did our work. We borrowed money to do jobs. Up to now, no payments.

“The NSA said they should not pay us. Please, we are appealing to Mr President to tell the NSA to pay us. Because we are now homeless. We have no house. Our children can no longer go to school,” she said.

Her remarks drew emotional reactions from attendees as she recounted personal tragedies linked to the alleged non-payment.

“Imagine Mrs Ebi Tinugu, the late Kola Waii Tinugu’s wife. She lost her daughter because of N9 million. She is also a vendor in the presidential amnesty, yet she has no less than N400 million to collect.

“A lot of us that you are seeing here, we are homeless today. Banks have seized our property. We can no longer afford to rent a house again”’ she added,

The coalition therefore appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu to intervene, framing the crisis as both economic and humanitarian.

“We are now appealing to the First Lady of Nigeria. She’s our mother. Please, she should help us because we are mothers. We have husbands, we have children. Please, we need help.

“Mr President, your mandate is not for Denis Otuaro to come and kill all the Niger Delta contractors. The young people are dying every day. Please, we need help.

“We need our money. Pay us now. Denis Otuaro, you have expired in the presidential amnesty. Denis Otuaro must go. You have killed enough indigents”, she pleaded.

Also addressing the gathering, Community Leader, Chief Sam Ibegi delivered a scathing assessment of Otuaro’s tenure, alleging incompetence and calling for a full investigation into the programme’s operations.

“We don’t think Otuaro should be given a vote of confidence. He has performed woefully in that office.

“Those rhetorics he’s giving to the public is not what we expect from somebody from the region,” Ibegi said.

He questioned why contractors, many of whom are from the Niger Delta remain unpaid despite completing their assignments.

Ibegi further alleged that Otuaro is lobbying to extend his tenure beyond what he described as the standard term.

“The Niger Delta contractors are all his people — his brothers and sisters. So we see no reason why people will work and refuse to pay contractors.

“You say you are training the boys. If you train them, won’t you give them jobs? Won’t you give them opportunity to serve the country?

“He has stayed there for more than two years. Others stayed two years and left. Why is he still there? Making life difficult for the people.

“We are saying, Mr President, sack him immediately and let us breathe fresh air in that office,” he added.

He also called on anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and ICPC, to probe the programme.

“We are passing a vote of no confidence in his lack of administrative knowledge. He should leave office with immediate effect.

“The Niger Delta is bleeding because of Denis Otuaro. People are dying in silence,” Ibegi said.

The coalition further warned that continued neglect could erode support for the federal government’s agenda in the region.

“If the contractors are not paid, we are not going to work with the president.

“The peace we are seeing in the Niger Delta today — if not for the amnesty vendors, there would be no peace,” Ibegi cautioned.

The protest underscores growing discontent among stakeholders over the management of the Amnesty Programme, a key initiative designed to stabilise the oil-rich Niger Delta by reintegrating former agitators.