By Emem Idio, Yenagoa

The recent appointment of Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro as the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, has caused excitement among Ijaw youths and the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Worldwide.

Recall that the IYC led by Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri had warned that the appointment of a non-Ijaw man as Coordinator of PAP would not be acceptable to Ijaw youths whose sacrifice led to the establishment of PAP.

A congratulatory letter by the IYC to Dr Otuaro, signed by its President, Sir Jonathan and Spokesman Amb. Binebai Princewill described his appointment as significant in many ways and commended President Tinubu for listening to the yearnings of the IYC.

The letter reads in part, ” As a council, we want to specifically commend His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for not only finding Dr Dennis Otuaro worthy of such appointments but for also listening to the yearnings of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and the Ijaw people in general. With this, President Tinubu has shown that he is truly a listening president.

“His appointment is significant in many ways, the IYC is optimistic that Otuaro will bring in his wealth of experience to sustain the gains recorded by previous administrators of the Programme and also improve on it in line with current realities.

“While the Ijaw Youth Council is hopeful that Otuaro who is deeply rooted in the Niger Delta struggle for a better living condition will bring a lot of reforms, Council is sure that he will work closely with all critical stakeholders in the region to fully implement the aim and objectives of the programme.

“This, to us, as Ijaw people, is one of the best appointments made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu so far in his administration. Finally, the IYC believes that Otuaro, as a man of the people, will operate an open-door policy by carrying everyone along. Once again, congratulations on your well-deserved appointment as the new administrator of PAP.”