Ahead of the planned nationwide protest on October 1, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, says people of the Niger Delta will no longer allow themselves to be used again to chase away investors.
He, therefore, appealed to all amnesty beneficiaries and Niger Delta stakeholders to steer clear of the planned protest in the interest of growth and development of the region.
He made the appeal on the third day of the Niger Delta Stakeholders Meeting held at KFT Event Centre, Warri, Delta State, on Friday.
The gathering tagged “Niger Delta Stakeholders Partnership For Peace And Economic Growth” was in continuation of the Niger Delta Stakeholders meeting of community leaders, opinion leaders, elders, traditional rulers, women groups, and youth bodies.
According to Otuaro, President Ahmed Tinubu’s regime has favoured the Niger Delta region, so all stakeholders must ensure that the peace so far achieved must continue.
He noted that the peace in the region must continue in order to attract more development and investments.
He also said the economic challenges in the country will fizzle out very soon and that the Niger Delta should continue to support the Tinubu-led administration.
“Then on the regional peace, I will still appeal to you. We know there are many rumours here and there.
“Some said they want to protest on October 1st. We are partners in progress. Those of us in this programme, phase one, phase two, and phase three, are not going to participate in any protest in this country.
“Those times that we have been protesting, all the investors ran away. So, it is our time to play our role, to see that this peace continues to be here, and to attract more investments to this region under this presidency.
“That is what we owe ourselves. That is what we owe our community. It is not time to be used again because most of us, I will continue to say most of us till tomorrow, still live on daily wage.
“We will not be part of any protest in this region; we will continue to make the Niger Delta peaceful. We are doing it for ourselves.
“Nobody will argue the fact that the changes or the reform that are going on is not affecting our pockets, but these are things that will fizzle out. We have to draw the line between the old ways of doing things now.
“For my office, I will continue to appeal for your support, and I will continue to attend to your demands and solve your legitimate problems.
“So our region is in your hands. This continued peace is in your hands,” he said.
Speaking further, he spoke on the 2025 budget, which, according to him, is being reviewed for the increment of the Amnesty programme.
“I have very few things to say on behalf of Mr. President. We know that the Amnesty programme is ours, and you are always seen as partners in this country.
“As far as this programme is concerned, we are partners for peace, partners for development and growth in the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole.
“Since when I came into office this year, I have been given very wonderful support from all of you, and I really appreciate that support from every one of you.
“Yes, we might be seen on an individual basis, but I always see it necessary that we meet like this and have this kind of open interaction so that we know that we support ourselves.
“We are one family. I want us to come openly, sort out our differences, and continue to give our support to our communities, to our region, to this country, and to Mr. President.
“In our last interactive session, we discussed a lot of things that I said, I will, I will go back and work on, and by the special grace of God, many of you are aware that some of the problems are being resolved, especially the issues of BVN.
“Then I want to reassure you that Mr. President is really interested in our budget increments.
“In the 2025 budgetary year, our budget will be reviewed upward to accommodate more people, accommodate more women, and accommodate more stakeholders, was not carried along.
“As a programme, as an office, when we have a platform like this, we are not going to wait until we go back to violence before we accommodate everybody. It’s a continuous engagement.
“Some of these issues are issues that are affecting our communities and that even affect you more. There are some that I don’t even see, but you are seeing them.
“Those are things that we must do together. That is why you are the number one partner for the peace that the government has been saying exists.
“You are number one, and it is this peace that will bring more growth and more commitment to the development of the region.
“Also, we have reviewed the educational program to see that even in the coming budget, we will admit more of our students, more of our youths.
“When we send more of our children to school, we will reasonably mobilise them for national growth and development.
“We are also reviewing the vocational training. We are going to engage some and empower some. We are going to engage you in what we call on-the-job training (OJT), where you will be on the placement in any area that you were trained, and then after six months or one year, you will be on your own.
“For the scholarship programme, I know many of you are worried, and I’ve told you that the scholarship program was open for applicants throughout the year, from January till last month, and out of the few numbers we want to give scholarships, about 25,000 people applied, but the Educational Unit is seriously working on the selection process.
Meanwhile, during the interactive session with the stakeholders, each speaker from across the region vowed to mobilise their people to shun any form of protest against the government of the day.
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