There is a remarkable difference within a year, reckons JAMES EKANEM

Just about three years ago, the conversation was over the future of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) with arguments for scrapping it. That was in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How much difference a change in administration can bring such that those conversations appear to be light years ago. Today the talk is about how much impact the PAP has made on human capital development of youths in the Niger Delta, reducing restiveness, promoting inclusion and helping the exploration and production of oil and gas resources, which has seen an increase, especially in the last one year.

As a measure of its increased relevance, the amnesty office has become more active and strategic in its engagements. In the last one year, for instance, the PAP has exponentially increased the number of beneficiaries of its scholarships and training programmes for Niger Delta youths. Figures from the PAP office and other independent organisations in the area show that scholarship beneficiaries in just one year more than tripled from about 500 previously to about 1,700 students from across the constituent oil-producing states. The beneficiaries are being sponsored to study degree programs relevant to both the oil and gas industry and the real sector of the economy. Also impressive is the fact that the overseas scholarship scheme which was suspended previously has been revived and 60 students have now been mobilised to undertake study abroad in critical areas that will be beneficial to the Nigerian economy.

Aside from the university scholarships, which have been expanded, there are also the various vocational training programmes, including the maritime cadet training for youths in various institutions across the region, as well as aviation training. Some of these students have been mobilised to undergo training in South Africa and other countries while some are undergoing training in local universities and academies. These programmes are not only beneficial to the students but also to the academies, such as Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, Otomewo, Delta State, which received 98 students. Stressing the importance of the deployment, Otuaro said at one such event that: “I consider this deployment of 98 delegates as strategic because the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is interested in human capacity development for the blue economy. Manpower development is very important to our region and our country. Today, we are starting with 98 delegates as maritime cadets for the blue economy. And you all owe us a duty to be committed to your study, and demonstrate that the Niger Delta people are ready to key into the blue economy policy of the President.”

The PAP was set up in 2009 in the aftermath of the violent protests by Niger Delta youths over limited human capital and employment opportunities, despite the huge contribution of the region to the nation’s economy. These training programmes and human capacity development initiatives target the ex-agitators, their family members, and other nominees.

Since its establishment, PAP has gone through many phases and administrations, needing a sharpening of its mandate. Until the coming of the Tinubu administration, which created new portfolios in the marine and blue sector and a determination to increase oil and gas production. Both strategic moves gave broader opportunities for the graduates of the programme. It also gave new impetus to the strategic goals of the PAP which were sharpened after the president announced the appointment of Dr Dennis Otuaro in March 2024 as the Administrator, with a mandate to: ‘bring his requisite experience and know-how to this role to revamp the Amnesty Programme and advance the realization of its founding purpose and vision.’

 Otuaro who holds a PhD in Comparative Politics & Development Studies; an MSc in Public Administration, and a BSc in Education, was a top-level executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a surfeit of experience across multiple sectors, including infrastructure development, security, environmental remediation, as well as oil and gas. His training and experience enabled him to have a panoramic view of the PAP programme and quickly develop a programme of strategic stakeholder engagement across the region to upscale the PAP interventions in the relevant areas. The efficient stakeholder management which he has introduced, with the administrator meeting severally with all the publics of the amnesty programme: leaders of the various phases, community leaders, traditional rulers, students, beneficiaries, industry and others, has encouraged more Niger Deltans to buy into its programs. The net impact has been relative peace around the programme and in the Niger Delta.

Today, the impact is there for all to see as it has greatly complemented the efforts by the administration to address vandalism and theft by providing sustainable alternatives for ex-agitators. Increases in oil production have been sustained and the country is looking to crest the two million barrels per day mark, which it last attained in 2011.

Dr Otuaro’s strategic leadership of the PAP is critical to peacebuilding with positive impacts on oil production, exports and macroeconomic stability. He knows this and the blueprint he developed to expand the programme to capture as many youths as are qualified under the various initiatives, as well his continuous engagements with stakeholders seem to be working.

Ekanem writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State