Former Niger Delta agitator from Rivers State, Gen Obioma Sunday, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove Dennis Otuaro as Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), accusing him of abandoning the programme’s original mandate and failing to adequately address the welfare of former agitators.

Sunday made the call while expressing concern over what he described as growing hardship among ex-agitators and their families under the current administration of the programme. He argued that the situation requires urgent presidential intervention before it escalates further.

According to Sunday, President Tinubu demonstrated goodwill towards beneficiaries of the programme by increasing the PAP budget from N65 billion to N115 billion. 

He, however, questioned the impact of the increased allocation on the former agitators who, he said, were the primary beneficiaries of the programme.

Sunday alleged that despite the budget increase, the monthly stipend paid directly to ex-agitators has not been increased. He described this as a major concern, particularly given the economic difficulties confronting many beneficiaries and their families.

He further accused the PAP leadership of failing to provide sufficient opportunities for former agitators to participate in vocational training and other empowerment programmes. Sunday said the absence of such opportunities was leaving many ex-agitators without sustainable means of livelihood.

The former agitator also raised concerns over the education component of the programme, alleging that beneficiaries of educational opportunities are largely people connected to the leadership through friends, associates and family members. 

He maintained that the alleged situation was unfair to those who were directly involved in the struggle that led to the establishment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“We are the real owners of this programme, yet many of us are being left to suffer in pain and sorrow,” Sunday said, expressing frustration over what he described as a departure from the original objectives of the initiative.

He accused Otuaro's administration of being insensitive to the welfare of former agitators, alleging that its policies had worsened the difficulties faced by beneficiaries. 

Sunday said the PAP was established to provide rehabilitation, reintegration, education and economic opportunities for former militants, and urged the authorities to ensure that those objectives remained central to its operations.

Sunday appealed directly to President Tinubu to intervene by reviewing the leadership of the programme and removing Otuaro from office.

He said the President should act before the growing dissatisfaction among former agitators develops into a more serious crisis.

“We are calling on Mr President to sack Dennis Otuaro because he does not have the ex-agitators at heart,” Sunday said. 

He described the current administration of the programme as, in his view, one of the most insensitive since its establishment and urged the Federal Government to urgently refocus PAP on the welfare, rehabilitation and sustainable empowerment of the people for whom it was created.