Leaders and coordinators of the Phase One Ex-agitators have warned against blackmail and needless attacks on the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, by some detractors in the Niger Delta.
The leaders, who rose from their meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the weekend, also condemned the ongoing plot to link Otuaro to a purportedly leaked confidential document about former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a communique issued after the meeting, the leaders mainly took exception to a video circulated a few weeks ago on social media by one Jude Gbaboyor, who claimed that Otuaro leaked a confidential document in the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) on former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The ex-agitators in the communique signed by the Chairman, First Phase and King of Ofunama, HRH Henry Binidodogha, aka General Egbeme, also condemned what they described as unsavoury allusions by Gbaboyor to the foremost Niger Delta freedom fighter and Chairman of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo.
They said: "It is our collective conviction that Jude Gbaboyor's allegations, including the one bordering on leaked DSS documents and his attacks on Dr Dennis Otuaro in the social media and some sections of the mainstream media, were unfounded, untenable and unwarranted.
"We also firmly believe Dr Dennis Otuaro knew nothing about the published document. The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme does not work with the DSS.
"He, therefore, cannot be accused by Jude Gbaboyor of causing the purported document to be published."
The ex-agitators insisted that the PAP office was not an extension or annexe of the DSS and that sensitive documents of the security agency, like the one bandied by Gbaboyor, were not in the custody of Dr Dennis Otuaro.
They referred to the DSS as one of the country's most efficient and organised agencies with an unimaginable capacity for holistic investigations, adding that the agency did not need anybody to do its investigative work.
The ex-agitators said, "We, therefore, believe that Jude Gbaboyor's outing smacks of a deliberate move to blackmail the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro and distract him from performing his duties. We urge Jude Gbaboyor and other detractors to let Dr Dennis Otuaro be.
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"By now, it is crystal clear to all that the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has recorded a lot of achievements since assuming office in the past eight months. We are aware that he has brought the Programme home to the Niger Delta people and, indeed, all stakeholders for sustainable peace, security and development of our region.
"Various critical stakeholders have commended Dr Dennis Otuaro for the noble reforms that his leadership had engendered at the Presidential Amnesty Programme to make the Programme more beneficial to all delegates and beneficiaries and our region".
The leaders expressed their unwavering support for Otuaro, saying that they did not doubt that as a product of the struggle, he understood the mandate of PAP and the Niger Delta issues.
"We also applaud the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for their unwavering support for Dr Dennis Otuaro and the Presidential Amnesty Programme. We urge them to continue to support Dr Dennis Otuaro to enable him to achieve the Programme's objectives.
"We, however, advise Jude Gbaboyor and his ilk to embrace peace and desist from their nefarious activities that are not helpful to the peace and development of our region. We all owe it a duty to work together and support the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, to succeed for the sake of our region."
