“No Office Has The Right To Pre-Assign Votes — Calls For Otuaro To Focus On Amnesty, Not Campaigns”

The recent declaration by the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, that “the entire Niger Delta will support only President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 elections” is not only false, it is deeply manipulative, politically coercive, and an abuse of public office.

Dr. Otuaro has no constitutional, moral, or political mandate to speak for the entire Niger Delta. At best, he can speak for himself and his family. To suggest otherwise is to undermine the fundamental democratic right of our people to choose their political path freely and without intimidation.

As an appointed public servant, the PAP boss is bound by the principles of neutrality in public office. Nigerian law is clear: the Public Service Rules, the Electoral Act, and our Constitution all prohibit public officials from using their positions to advance partisan political interests. He is not an INEC officer, not a party chairman, and certainly not the political conscience of the Niger Delta. His duty is to manage the Amnesty Programme, not to act as a campaign spokesperson for the President.

Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of association, including the right to belong to any political party or to none. Section 39 protects the right to hold opinions without interference. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirms that every citizen has the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs and to vote in genuine elections, free from coercion. By presuming to speak for all Niger Deltans, Dr. Otuaro’s statement violates both the spirit and letter of these provisions.

The truth is that Niger Delta communities continue to suffer deep poverty, polluted rivers, bad roads, lack of potable water, electricity shortages, failing schools, and chronic unemployment — even as our oil wealth fuels the national economy. Instead of addressing these injustices, we are now faced with political pronouncements that insult our intelligence and attempt to reduce us to political commodities.

Our people are not for sale. Our votes are not a bloc to be traded in exchange for political favour. The Niger Delta is not an extension of anyone’s campaign machinery. We will not allow the voices of our millions to be silenced under the weight of one man’s personal loyalty to the President.

As National Coordinator of the Independent Grassroot Liberator (IGL), I announce today that we are mobilizing one million Niger Delta youths to resist all forms of political oppression, to demand respect for our human rights, and to confront the culture of neglect that has defined the region’s relationship with the Nigerian state. We will defend our right to political self-determination, as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and ensure that no appointed official hijacks the voice of the Niger Delta for their personal political agenda.

Dr. Otuaro’s statement is callous, irresponsible, and unbecoming of the office he holds. The Amnesty Programme was created to bring peace, rehabilitation, and opportunity to the Niger Delta — not to serve as a propaganda wing for any government or political party. We call on him to focus on his mandate, deliver on the promises of the PAP, and leave the political choices of our people where they belong — in the hands of the Niger Delta people themselves.

We will not be coerced. We will not be silenced. We will not be used.

Hon. Company Yerinbowei Felix (Ycom)
Immediate Past Councillor, WSW LGA
National Coordinator, Independent Grassroot Liberator (IGL)