Saint Meipanmo Onitsha, the Chief Executive Officer of Naija Live TV and a Niger Delta Activist has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the appointing Dennis Otuaro as the new Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

He also congratulated the newly appointed Amnesty boss, expressing optimism that the programme will have a face lift under his administration.

In a congratulatory message on Saturday, Onitsha also used the opportunity to pleas with the new administrator to reinstate the over 3,000 illegally delisted delegates of the Programme for the interest of unity and oneness.

The activist noted that Chief Dennis Otuaro as a PhD holder in Comparative Politics & Development Studies; MSc in Public Administration, and a BSc in Education will know-how to handle the role to revamp the Amnesty Programme and advance the course of its founding purpose and vision.

Saint who is a beneficiary of the Presidential amnesty Programme, noted that the reason for the amnesty programme has not been achieved based on poor performance of successive Interim administrators in tackling the retraining and reintegration of the former Ex-Agitators back to the society.

The message reads “I want to specifically thank H.E, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing an insider of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the person of Chief Dennis Otuaro as Administrator of PAP”.

"Amnesty was granted to the Niger Delta ex-militants to promote peace and reconciliation in the region. It was a way to address the grievances and find a peaceful resolution.

"The amnesty programme played a significant role in bringing peace to the Niger Delta region and was designed to provide the former militants with the opportunity to lay down their arms, renounce violence and be reintegrate into the society.

"Through this programme, they were to be given vocational training, educational opportunities, and financial support to start a new life. This helped to reduce the level of violence and instability in the region, fostering a more peaceful environment for everyone.

"But successive interim administrators failed in this regard. Instead of empowering them, delegate's names were wrongly delisted from the programme for no reason."

Recall that Saint Meipanmo Onitsha, among many other beneficiaries, was incarcerated in Kuje prison early October, 2023, by the immediate past Administration of PAP due to his demands for the right measures to be put in place for ex-agitators.

The incarceration led the Africa Head, Committee for Protecting Journalists (CPJ), Angela Quintal, in New York to attest that “Saint Mienpamo Onitsha was detained for nearly four months simply for doing his job, which should never be considered a crime.