Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The new Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Office, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has assumed duty at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
The Technical Assistant to the former Interim Administrator, Mr Ita Henshaw, handed over the notes to the Otuaro in a brief ceremony in Abuja on yesterday.
In his speech, Otuaro said that he will not betray the trust reposed in him by the president and the National Security Adviser (NSA).
He said his mission in the Amnesty Office is to render quality service to the Niger Delta region and the nation, stressing that there would be no room for failure.
Otuaro asked the members of staff to be focused and give him the requisite cooperation to move the establishment forward.
He assured that he is not in the Amnesty Office to pursue personal gains even as he urged the members of staff to embrace his principle. Otuaro promised to bring the programme closer to the people
He said: “I thank Mr President for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve at this time. I need everybody’s cooperation here to take this programme to greatness.
“My appeal here is as from today we should back the crowd and face the job. I need everyone’s cooperation so we don’t disappoint the president, the NSA, the people of the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole.
“I believe in this country. Everything about me is in this country and it is also in the Niger Delta. This assignment is for our people, for the country and for humanity. We are bringing the programme closer to the people. We will not use it to pursue things that are abstract.
“We will streamline whatever that we know that is giving us the load to provide excuses, we must streamline some things and we’ll work together.
“I will not disappoint my people, I will not disappoint Mr. President and NSA who gave me this appointment. I am not here to pursue personal goals, I am begging everybody to be on same with me. This is a serious time we are going to spend here, so I will make everything short. I thank everybody, we will get used to ourselves as time goes on.”
President Bola Tinubu had approved the appointment of Otuaro as administrator of the programme last Thursday.
Otuaro holds a PhD in Comparative Politics & Development Studies; an MSc in Public Administration, and a BSc in Education.
He had previously served as a top-level executive of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with experience across multiple sectors, including infrastructure development, security, environmental remediation as well as oil and gas.
