2027: Otuaro Urges IYC To Mobilise Support For Tinubu

The Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has urged the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Otuaro said it was in the strategic interest of the Ijaw people and the Niger Delta to support the President for a second term.

He spoke when the newly inaugurated 10th leadership of the IYC, led by its President, Dr Doubra Okotete, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja at the weekend.

The PAP administrator urged the council to guard against division in the region and mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.

“My appeal to the IYC is that nothing should divide us. 2027 is already here. Let us back the President and mobilise for him to win a second term.

“We should not allow anybody to cause division among us or trade us for a new hope. It is within the Ijaw strategic national interest to support the President to secure victory,” he said.

Otuaro also commended the IYC and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta for their cooperation and support for the PAP’s peacebuilding efforts in the region.

He described the support as “massive and encouraging,” noting that stakeholders had continued to express solidarity with his peace efforts and reforms aimed at repositioning the programme.

“Many well-meaning stakeholders of the Niger Delta, including the IYC, are in support of the direction we have taken.

“Their support and cooperation have been massive and encouraging, working together with the office to sustain peace and stability, and prepare the next generation for a greater tomorrow in the Niger Delta through huge scholarships,” he said.

Otuaro said the reforms had also expanded the PAP’s scholarship scheme, with beneficiaries deployed to universities within and outside Nigeria.

He said 8,700 beneficiaries were currently studying in-country, while more than 270 had been deployed to institutions outside the country.

He added that 93 beneficiaries were deployed in January and May, while another 150 were scheduled for deployment in August/September.

The PAP boss said President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, were pleased with the efforts to consolidate peace in the Niger Delta, particularly through the scholarship programme.

He thanked the IYC leadership for the visit, stressing that sustaining peace and stability in the region remained a collective responsibility.

Earlier, the IYC president said the visit was to acknowledge what he described as the PAP’s “unprecedented success in the education and empowerment of Niger Delta youths” under Otuaro.

Okotete commended the PAP administrator for his commitment and prudent application of funds, which he said had enabled thousands of youths from the region to access quality education.

He also expressed the council’s readiness to work with Otuaro and explore areas of greater partnership between the PAP and the IYC.