AKWA IBOM EX-MILITANTS FORUM BACKS TINUBU FOR 2027, DEFENDS AMNESTY PROGRAMME CHIEF DENNIS OTUARO

The Akwa Ibom Ex-Militants Forum has declared its support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and passed a vote of confidence in Presidential Amnesty Programme Administrator Dr. Dennis Otuaro, placing the group behind the administration’s Niger Delta strategy at a time when Otuaro is facing competing calls from other ex-agitator groups for his removal and greater scrutiny of the amnesty program.

In a statement released Wednesday in Uyo and signed by the forum’s leader, Elder Imoh Okoko, the group said it would support Tinubu under the Renewed Hope Agenda and argued that the Niger Delta requires political stability, sustained federal engagement, human-capital investment and continuity in the peace-building institutions created after the militancy crisis that disrupted oil production and security across the region.

The forum also rejected demands by some Niger Delta groups for Otuaro to be removed as administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, saying leadership changes at the agency could undermine ongoing rehabilitation, reintegration and empowerment programs. It said that as stakeholders and beneficiaries of the post-conflict process, its members regarded the amnesty program as a central institution in maintaining relative peace and managing the transition of former militants away from armed agitation.

“The Akwa Ibom Ex-Militants Forum reaffirms its support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and his Renewed Hope Agenda,” the group said in the statement. “We believe the Niger Delta requires stability, responsible leadership, sustained investment in human capital and continued Federal Government engagement.”

The endorsement is a political position taken by the forum and does not necessarily represent all former militants or ex-agitator organizations across the Niger Delta, where views of Tinubu, Otuaro and the management of the Presidential Amnesty Programme remain divided. Other groups have recently criticized the amnesty administration, alleged marginalization or misuse of resources and called for investigations or leadership changes. Those allegations have been contested, and no single organization speaks for all former militant factions across the oil-producing region.

The Akwa Ibom forum’s position is therefore significant less because it establishes a uniform Niger Delta political alignment than because it illustrates how the Presidential Amnesty Programme has become increasingly connected to the wider political contest ahead of the 2027 election. Groups that once focused primarily on stipends, training and reintegration are now taking explicit positions on presidential politics, regional representation and the future of federal intervention in the Niger Delta.

Tinubu appointed Otuaro as administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in March 2024, tasking him with revitalizing an initiative created in 2009 to help end militant violence, attacks on oil infrastructure and instability in the Niger Delta. Otuaro previously held a senior position at the Niger Delta Development Commission and entered the role with experience in security, infrastructure, environmental remediation and oil-sector issues.

The amnesty program was originally established under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after years of militant attacks sharply reduced Nigeria’s oil production and destabilized communities across the region. Thousands of militants surrendered weapons under the initiative in exchange for disarmament, demobilization, monthly stipends, vocational training, scholarships and reintegration support.

The program contributed to a reduction in large-scale militancy and helped restore crude production, but it has remained controversial for more than 15 years. Successive administrations have faced complaints about delayed stipends, beneficiary lists, contracts, training programs, unequal representation between states and the sustainability of keeping former militants dependent on a federally funded intervention.

Those longstanding tensions are reflected in Akwa Ibom itself. The same forum now defending Otuaro has previously complained that ex-agitators from the state were marginalized under the amnesty system. In early 2025, Okoko publicly alleged that some Akwa Ibom beneficiaries had been excluded from scholarships, empowerment programs and other opportunities and called on Otuaro’s administration to address what the group described as longstanding inequities.

The forum had raised similar concerns when Otuaro first took office in 2024, asking him to correct what members said was an imbalance in the treatment of Akwa Ibom participants under previous administrations. At that time, however, the group also welcomed his appointment and expressed hope that he would reform the program and improve its treatment of neglected beneficiaries.

Its latest statement suggests that the forum now believes removing Otuaro would do more harm than continuing to press for changes within the existing leadership structure. The group said his administration should be allowed to consolidate programs related to education, skills acquisition, reintegration and economic empowerment rather than being disrupted by calls for another leadership transition.

That position comes amid a broader dispute among ex-agitator networks. Several groups and individual campaigners in the Niger Delta have called for Otuaro to be investigated or replaced, accusing the amnesty office of failing to distribute benefits fairly or alleging problems with program finances and appointments. Some of those claims have circulated through activist networks and regional publications, but they have not been established as findings of wrongdoing by a court or official investigative body.

Supporters of Otuaro argue that the program has expanded scholarships, training and engagement with former agitators under his leadership. The amnesty office has publicly highlighted the deployment of scholarship beneficiaries to universities and specialized training programs and has repeatedly said its priority is strengthening human capital while preserving peace in the region.

Otuaro has also linked the program’s work directly to Tinubu’s administration, saying the federal government remains committed to education, skills development and security in the Niger Delta. In public statements during 2026, he has described the region as substantially more peaceful than during the years of militant insurgency and has urged former agitators to avoid actions that could reverse those gains.

The Akwa Ibom forum adopted a similar argument Wednesday, warning that instability in the leadership of the amnesty program could create uncertainty among beneficiaries and undermine trust between former fighters and the federal government. It said peace in the Niger Delta should not be taken for granted simply because the region no longer experiences the scale of coordinated militant attacks seen during the 2000s.

That argument carries economic weight because the Niger Delta remains central to Nigeria’s public finances, export earnings and energy security. Although the country has sought to diversify away from crude dependence, oil still provides a large share of foreign-exchange earnings and remains critical to federal revenue. Pipeline attacks, crude theft and militant disruption can therefore affect the entire national economy rather than only communities in the oil-producing states.

The government has increasingly linked improved security in the Niger Delta to rising crude production and efforts to reduce oil theft. Alongside the amnesty program, authorities rely on military operations, community engagement and privately contracted pipeline surveillance to protect energy infrastructure. Supporters of the current approach argue that maintaining cooperation with former agitators and local communities is essential to preventing a return to widespread sabotage.

Critics, however, argue that peace arrangements can become overly dependent on contracts, stipends and political patronage without addressing deeper grievances over unemployment, environmental degradation, poverty and the distribution of oil wealth. Those concerns have persisted despite successive development agencies and federal intervention programs.

The Presidential Amnesty Programme sits directly within that tension. It was created as a post-conflict measure rather than as a permanent welfare system, but repeated attempts to determine how and when it should end have proved politically difficult. Thousands of beneficiaries remain connected to the program through education, training and financial support, while governments remain wary that abrupt withdrawal could create instability.

Otuaro has generally emphasized a transition from dependence on stipends toward human-capital development and employability. His administration has continued scholarship programs and vocational initiatives while describing reintegration as a process that should eventually allow beneficiaries to participate independently in the wider economy.

The Akwa Ibom forum said Wednesday that those objectives are among the reasons it supports continuity at the program. It described rehabilitation, reintegration and economic empowerment as necessary to preserving stability and argued that political disputes around the administrator should not derail the program’s core mandate.

The forum’s endorsement of Tinubu goes beyond Otuaro. It said the president’s broader engagement with the Niger Delta justified support for another term and called for sustained federal attention to the region’s development and security concerns.

Tinubu is expected to seek a second term in 2027, and political organizations across Nigeria are already aligning themselves well before formal campaigning reaches its peak. Akwa Ibom has emerged as an increasingly important part of the ruling All Progressives Congress’ southern strategy, particularly because Senate President Godswill Akpabio is one of the most powerful political figures in the state and the wider South-South.

Political movements in Akwa Ibom have spent much of 2026 organizing support for Tinubu, Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno. The Arise With Renewed Hope Initiative, for example, has established structures across the state and among Akwa Ibom communities outside the state, openly mobilizing for their return to office in 2027.

The ex-militants forum’s endorsement therefore fits into a wider pattern of early political mobilization in Akwa Ibom, although it represents a distinct constituency with its own history and interests. Former agitators have long played a visible role in Niger Delta political negotiations because of their connection to the peace process, local security and federal intervention programs.

Their political endorsements can also attract scrutiny because beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme receive support from the federal government. Critics may question whether support for an incumbent administration is connected to access to federal programs, while the groups involved generally argue that they are citizens entitled to make political choices based on their assessment of government performance.

There is no evidence in the forum’s Wednesday statement that its endorsement was required by the amnesty office, and the group presented its position as an independent decision based on what it described as Tinubu’s approach to Niger Delta stability and Otuaro’s leadership of the program.

The forum also framed its support in terms of continuity rather than suggesting that all problems within the amnesty system have been resolved. That distinction is notable given its own previous complaints. Its earlier demands for greater inclusion of Akwa Ibom beneficiaries demonstrate that support for Otuaro does not necessarily mean members believe the program has operated without shortcomings.

The latest position instead appears to be that perceived weaknesses should be addressed without replacing the administrator. The forum said calls for Otuaro’s removal could destabilize existing processes and weaken progress in areas such as education and reintegration.

That argument is likely to be challenged by groups seeking a leadership change. Some ex-agitators have accused Otuaro’s administration of exclusion and have called for audits of program resources. The existence of competing claims highlights how fragmented Niger Delta ex-militant politics remains more than a decade after the original amnesty.

Former militant networks are divided by state, phase of the amnesty program, community affiliation and former command structures. Groups frequently disagree over representation, beneficiary status, contracts and access to federal support. Political endorsements made by one forum should therefore not automatically be interpreted as a consensus position across the Niger Delta.

The federal government also faces the challenge of ensuring that administration of the program does not become inseparable from electoral politics. The PAP is financed with public funds and has an official mandate centered on peace, rehabilitation and reintegration rather than campaigning for any political party or candidate.

Otuaro himself is a presidential appointee, but beneficiaries include people with different political affiliations and interests. Maintaining confidence in the program therefore requires transparency over how scholarships, training opportunities and other benefits are distributed.

That issue is especially important as the 2027 election approaches. Political competition across the Niger Delta can intensify tensions over federal appointments and resources, while groups may use endorsements to strengthen their bargaining positions with candidates and governments.

For Tinubu, support from a forum of former militants adds another endorsement from the South-South, but its electoral significance should not be exaggerated. A statement by one organization cannot on its own indicate how Akwa Ibom or the wider Niger Delta will vote in 2027, particularly more than a year before the election and before the full field of presidential candidates and campaign issues is settled.

What it does show is that the administration’s handling of the amnesty program is becoming part of the political case being made for and against a second Tinubu term. Supporters point to continued peace, scholarships, reintegration and federal engagement. Critics point to unresolved welfare disputes, claims of exclusion and broader questions about whether the program has achieved enough after years of substantial public spending.

The Akwa Ibom Ex-Militants Forum has chosen to place itself firmly on the side of continuity. It says Tinubu should be returned in 2027 and Otuaro should remain in charge of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, arguing that changing course could threaten stability and disrupt programs that former agitators depend on.

That endorsement does not end the dispute surrounding the program or establish a unified political position among Niger Delta ex-agitators. Calls for reform, investigations and leadership changes remain part of the debate, and the forum itself has previously raised grievances over Akwa Ibom’s share of opportunities. The significance of Wednesday’s statement is that one organized group of beneficiaries has now moved from demanding greater inclusion within the existing system to explicitly defending both the current PAP leadership and the president who appointed it.

As the 2027 election draws closer, the intersection between Niger Delta peace policy and electoral politics is likely to become more pronounced. The government will be judged not only on whether large-scale militancy remains contained but on whether former agitators are moving into sustainable employment, whether oil-producing communities see measurable development and whether public resources devoted to the amnesty process are distributed transparently. The Akwa Ibom forum’s endorsement gives Tinubu and Otuaro political backing from one section of that constituency, but the competing voices across the region show that the larger argument over the future of the Presidential Amnesty Programme remains unresolved.