Oil theft: Presidential Amnesty Programme pledges support for Defence Monitoring Team

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has assured the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team that the agency will support its mandate to check crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.

Otuaro gave the assurance when the Joint Monitoring Team led by Major General Jamil Jimoh paid him a courtesy visit at the PAP Office in Abuja on Thursday.

He noted that the Joint Monitoring Team should be supported towards reducing the menace of illegal oil bunkering, and attacks on critical oil assets.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by Special Assistant on Media to the PAP Administrator, Mr Igoniko Oduma.

The statement said Otuaro assured that the PAP Office will work with the defence team, noting that its mission was in line with the mandate assigned to him by President Bola Tinubu.

The PAP administrator expressed delight that the country’s oil production output had reached 1.8 million barrels per day due to the intensified fight against crude oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

“I know that the essence of the PAP is for national and human security in the country and the region. We are going to work with you at any time. It’s part of the things we can do within the mandate given to me by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Based on that, we will collaborate with you to ensure the eradication of oil bunkering and other related activities in the Niger Delta.

“The country’s oil production output is on the rise and has reached 1.8 million barrels per day as announced sometime last week by the NNPCL. We are confident that it will increase more than that,” he said.

Otuaro added that the PAP was vigorously implementing the reintegration phase of the programme through initiatives in formal education, vocational training, and post-training empowerment of delegates, beneficiaries and women while also deepening stakeholders’ engagement for sustainable peace and stability in the region.

According to him, with more funding, the programme’s expanding scope would be better managed and administered in the strategic interest of national security and stability.

The leader of the team, Major General Jamil Jimoh, had solicited the support of the PAP, explaining that the visit was part of the team’s interface with Niger Delta stakeholders.

He applauded the PAP administrator for working hard to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the Niger Delta, stressing that Otuaro’s knowledge of the region was an asset to maintaining peace and stability in the area.

“We have been in the Niger Delta, and we have met with some stakeholders. But we felt that it is very important that we also visit the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme that was established by Federal Government and had brought peace to the Niger Delta.

“The Administrator knows a lot about that general area. He knows the people, and what is happening there and he will guide us on some of the things we want to do.

“We know that he has been doing a lot to make sure things are happening underground in the Niger Delta to maintain peace and stability. So we decided to meet him and his team today,” Jamil said.

Oil theft: Presidential Amnesty Programme pledges support for Defence Monitoring Team