An Open Letter to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Mr. President,

I write to you today as a concerned community leader and an APC chieftain from Ezetu in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, bearing the deep concerns and collective grievances of aggrieved stakeholders across the Niger Delta.

We are witnessing a deepening crisis of marginalization, nepotism, and political betrayal within the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), actions under the current leadership that threaten to shatter the fragile peace of our region.

Since Chief. Dennis Otuaro assumed leadership of the Amnesty Office, the agency claims to have deployed over 7,000 students to various universities within Nigeria and abroad. 

However, behind these celebrated statistics lies a systematic policy of exclusion. Key leaders, original agitators, and severely impacted oil-producing communities who sacrificed to establish the programme are being completely shut out of these educational opportunities.

At the center of this injustice is the blatant marginalization of Chief Victor-Ben Ebikabowei, popularly known as General Boyloaf. 

As one of the foundational figures of the Niger Delta peace deal and the recognized face of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Chief Victor Ben Ebikabowei aka Boyloaf and his vast constituency have been deliberately bypassed and left without a single slot in all waves of scholarship deployments.

This exclusionary management style is unprecedented in the history of the PAP. Previous administrators from Hon. Kingsley Kuku to Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) maintained an inclusive policy regardless of personal or political differences. 

Every key leader was consulted, carried along, and given an official slot allocation to ensure their respective impacted communities benefited directly from educational empowerment.

Under Chief. Otuaro’s current administration, however, we are witnessing a regime marked by deep seated favoritism and deliberate equity denial. 

The core stakeholders who laid down arms to secure peace for the nation now watch helplessly as our young people are left behind, while educational resources meant for the entire region are concentrated within a narrow political circle.

To highlight the extent of this disparity, over 80 percent of the educational scholarship deployments have been diverted exclusively to beneficiaries from Gbaramatu Kingdom, alongside personal friends, cronies, and associates of the current leadership. 

The Amnesty Programme has effectively been turned into a charity organization for Oporoza House in Gbaramatu Kingdom, used to advance their personal political careers.

This severe imbalance leaves the remaining communities of Bayelsa and the wider Niger Delta stripped of their rightful entitlements.

Chief. Otuaro has proven unfit to lead an intervention agency specifically designed to foster dialogue, bring healing, and maintain stability. 

Rather than uniting the region, his administrative approach has created deep internal divisions and bitterness among ex-agitators and community leaders at a level never before seen since the inception of the programme in 2009.

This marginalization carries a bitter political sting that appeals directly to the conscience of the nation’s political leadership. 

Prior to the 2023 presidential election, while other prominent regional figures aligned with opposition forces, Chief Ebikabowei Victor Ben aka Boyloaf stood firmly on the frontlines to secure victory for your administration. 

It remains a profound tragedy that the very loyalists who fought relentlessly to bring you into office are now the ones suffering alienation and neglect, as certain political aides and appointees prioritize personal gain, selling off key opportunities and sacrificing your true allies.

I am calling directly on you, Mr. President, to immediately intervene in the mounting crisis at the Presidential Amnesty Office. 

I suggest that you replace Chief Dennis Otuaro, as an administrator who fosters division and sectionalism cannot effectively direct a Special Purpose Vehicle built for regional peace.

The hard won peace in the Niger Delta rests entirely on equity, mutual respect, and inclusive governance. 

I urge you, Mr. President, to take decisive action to correct these historical distortions, restore fairness to the Amnesty Programme, and protect the loyalty of those who stood by your administration from the very beginning.

Yours faithfully,
Pst. Jacob Diboemi 
Ezetu Community Leader & APC Chiefty.