...As Leadership Without Empathy isn’t Governance—It’s Tyranny

In an indictment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme's recent leadership, Apostle Ezekiel Daniel has publicly declared Dennis Otuaro as the single worst administrator in the history of the initiative, thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for refusing to re-appoint him following the official end of his tenure three months ago.

According to Apostle Daniel, Otuaro’s departure comes despite an aggressive, multi-million-dollar campaign to retain his seat. In the months following the end of his term, Otuaro allegedly deployed millions of dollars in lobbying efforts, sought the intervention of the President’s closest aides, and offered countless sacrifices to government-affiliated shrines, yet all attempts to secure a reappointment ended in failure. 

Apostle Daniel emphasized that Otuaro lacks empathy, a foundational quality of true leadership, leading to a total collapse of trust, with 99.9 percent of amnesty delegates losing complete confidence in his rudderless, tyrannical, and exploitative style of governance.

The betrayal runs deeper on a personal and financial level, Apostle Daniel revealed. When Otuaro initially complained as a brother about a severe paucity of funds halting his agenda, Apostle Daniel personally took up the fight, campaigning for months until the monthly allocation for the Amnesty Programme was successfully increased from 65 billion naira to 115 billion naira. 

Despite this massive financial boost, the conditions of the primary beneficiaries—the 30,000 registered delegates, saw zero improvement, nor was any new value added to the initiative. Apostle Daniel characterized Otuaro’s two-year reign as a monumental waste of time, energy, and national resources.

Instead of uplifting the region, the expanded funds were diverted into what Apostle Daniel described as unprecedented looting. He alleged the office’s wealth was funneled into funding a Hollywood-style lifestyle for Oporoza House members, importing high-end Instagram escorts from Lagos into Warri hotels, and sponsoring endless, unproductive traditional festivals across riverine communities. 

Dismissing recent press statements by Edgar Biu, who claimed the office spent 83.5 billion naira on delegates over the last nine months. Apostle Daniel labeled the figures laughable and assured that those involved will ultimately be held accountable by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). 

In his closing appeal, Apostle Ezekiel Daniel urged President Tinubu to thoroughly consult genuine regional stakeholders, particularly the top five ex-agitator leaders whose original sacrifices formed the bedrock of the programme, before announcing a new administrator.