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Populist High Chief Wellington Bobo, the Oroupawei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, has thrown his full weight behind the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro, condemning in strong terms the House of Representatives’ threat to arrest him over a ₦26 billion audit query which he described as baseless, politically motivated and dangerously provocative.
In a statement released to the press and circulated among regional stakeholders, Chief Bobo faulted the House Public Accounts Committee for summoning Dr. Otuaro over expenditures allegedly incurred between 2020 and 2021, a period he stressed was long before the PAP Administrator assumed office in 2024. According to the Gbaramatu chief, the move amounted to a clear miscarriage of legislative oversight and raised serious concerns about fairness, due process and political intent.
Chief Bobo described the arrest threat as ill-timed and capable of inflaming tensions in the Niger Delta, warning that such actions could undermine the fragile peace sustained through years of painstaking engagement and reforms under the Amnesty Programme. He noted that attempts to intimidate the PAP boss had already attracted widespread condemnation from regional groups, including the Ijaw Youth Leaders of Thought and other civil society actors, who insist that the committee should instead direct its summons to those who actually managed PAP finances during the period under review.
According to him, accountability must never be turned into a weapon of political harassment. He maintained that while legislative oversight remains essential in a democracy, it must be exercised with fairness, factual accuracy and freedom from bias. Chief Bobo urged the House committee to summon the proper custodians of the accounts in question rather than targeting an administrator he described as working diligently to clean up and strengthen the system.
Responding further to the ultimatum reportedly issued to Dr. Otuaro, the Gbaramatu monarch reiterated that oversight should not be weaponised to settle scores or sabotage institutions that are critical to national peace and stability. He stressed that the Amnesty Programme remains a central pillar of peacebuilding in the Niger Delta and cautioned lawmakers to avoid actions capable of threatening the stability secured through the programme.
Chief Bobo again emphasised that the funds under probe allegedly relate to PAP activities between 2020 and 2021, years before Dr. Otuaro took office in 2024. He described it as unjust and unreasonable to summon and threaten a public officer over accounts from a period in which he had no responsibility, insisting that such an approach represents a fundamental distortion of legislative oversight.
Meanwhile, Dr. Otuaro’s office has reaffirmed his readiness to cooperate fully with any lawful and properly constituted probe, even as observers and stakeholders continue to call for a more focused, evidence-led and dispassionate approach to the audit. The PAP office, according to the statement, has maintained calm amid the controversy, with officials expressing confidence that due process will ultimately prevail.
Chief Bobo’s intervention aligns with a growing chorus of voices across the Niger Delta urging the National Assembly to exercise greater care, restraint and precision in its oversight responsibilities. Civil society groups, community leaders and youth organisations, including the Ijaw Youth Leaders of Thought, have criticised both the timing and tone of the committee’s actions, warning that deliberately targeting the PAP Administrator risks jeopardising the hard-won peace and stability in the region.
Many of these groups have instead called on lawmakers to summon those who actually held office during the years under review and to avoid dragging current reform efforts into controversies rooted in the past. They argue that misdirected oversight could erode public confidence and destabilise programmes designed to sustain peace and development.
Chief Bobo further noted that the relative peace Nigeria is enjoying today in the Niger Delta is the product of the collective efforts of critical stakeholders, including High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and Tantita Security Services. He warned that such sacrifices and contributions to national stability should not be treated as tools for political gamesmanship.
He therefore cautioned lawmakers to examine issues critically and without bias before launching attacks on individuals he described as innocent and hardworking, singling out Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro as an administrator producing positive results across the board. According to Chief Bobo, protecting the integrity of the Amnesty Programme and respecting the principles of justice and fairness remain essential to sustaining peace and progress in the Niger Delta and the nation at large.
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