The successful re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027 is a mandate for every peace, progress, prosperity, and development-loving Nigerian, especially people of the Niger Delta Region.
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief Dennis Brutu Otuaro, PhD, stated this in an address to the fifth batch of participants of the Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training for Presidential Amnesty Programme Stakeholders.
Organised by the PAP in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College of Nigeria (AANDEC), the fifth batch of participants had their training from Thursday, 18 to Friday, 19 December 2025 at the Ago Hall of the Nigerian Army War College, Asokoro, just as their counterparts were trained earlier from Monday, 15 to Tuesday, 16 December 2025 at the nearby Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Asokoro, Abuja.
In his address at the closing ceremony, Dr Otuaro clarified that the present PAP focus on formal education and training is meant to equip the Niger Delta Region youth to become drivers of security, peace, stability, and prosperity of the future.
The decision to massively deploy scholarship students to local and foreign universities, according to him, was informed by the need to utilise formal knowledge to build a greater future for Niger Delta communities.
Otuaro urged the people to guard the South-South against the divisive politics of strangers and intruders in order to protect the mandate of President Tinubu, who is ready to do more for the people of the region.
“That we have an interventionist agency does not mean that we cannot prepare our people for the future. These activities mark the foundation we are building for ourselves.
“We are sending our children to universities both home and abroad because we are preparing them for the future. Today, we are training our people for a better future.
“We cannot abandon our communities in the hands of uneducated and unserious people again,” Otuaro clarified before charging the newly trained to deploy their skills and knowledge for the good of their communities, Niger Delta, Nigeria and humanity.
It will be recalled that under the effective leadership of Dr Otuaro since March 2024, the PAP has deployed over 9,000 scholarship students to local and foreign universities between 2024 and 2025 while in-country deployment alone in 2025 stands at 4,500.
The objectives of the peacebuilding training include: to enable stakeholders to provide effective leadership; to enable stakeholders to manage community-level conflict; and to deepen the role of stakeholders to sustain existing peace in the Niger Delta Region.
In two different batches, stakeholders drawn from Phase One, Phase Two and Phase Three of the Presidential Amnesty Programme successfully participated in the Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training before leaving Abuja, certified in enhanced knowledge to demonstrate the value of effective leadership in the context of contemporary challenges in their respective communities in the region.
He particularly thanked President Tinubu for his unflinching love for the youth and people of the Niger Delta; lauded the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his excellent supervision of the PAP; commended the management of the Nigerian Army War College and the Nigerian Army Resource Centre; then applauded all the resource persons and training supervisors; and extended his gratitude to the leadership of AANDEC for the organisation’s beneficial partnership.
Concluding his address, Otuaro said, “I will like to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his love and support. He loves the Niger Delta. Without his support, we would not have achieved what we have achieved today.
“Mr President is very happy with the existing peace and stability in the Niger Delta. We will continue to build peace in our communities.
“At the PAP, we are focused on the mandate to develop and deliver for our people. This training marks the end of activities for this year. We will resume in the first quarter of next year.
“We all must agree on which way we want to go. Without agreeing on the direction that we want to go, we will continue to be disappointed. If you have any genuine challenges, my door is always open.
“Tinubu’s mandate is our mandate. Let us protect the South-South against strangers and intruders. I wish you all a merry Christmas, happy New Year and safe trip back home. I hereby declare this programme closed.”
