Afenifere Progressives Raise Alarm Over Brewing Tension in Niger Delta, Demand PAP Restructuring ...... Group accuses Amnesty Programme of marginalising Ondo oil communities, demands Otuaro's removal, threatens peaceful protest in Abuja

A Pan-Yoruba Grou, The Afenifere Progressives, a group of young Afenifere members and advocates of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration and reform agenda, has raised the alarm over what it describes as a silently brewing tension in the Niger Delta, particularly among non-Ijaw-speaking oil-producing communities.

The group expressed anger over alleged deliberate marginalisation, shortchanging and disregard for oil-producing communities in Ondo State in the administration of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Its concerns follow a Freedom of Information suit reportedly instituted by a legal practitioner, Daisi Onetufo, Esq., against the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Otuaro, and other respondents, over alleged failure to provide information requested on scholarship beneficiaries and related activities of the programme.

In a statement jointly signed by its Coordinator and Secretary, Omotehinse Michael and Comrade Modupe Adedayo resoectively, the Afenifere Progressives described the development as disturbing, insisting that Ondo State's oil-producing communities must not be treated as second-class stakeholders in a programme established to address the grievances and developmental challenges of oil-producing communities.

The organisation announced that it would submit a formal petition to President Tinubu, prominent Afenifere leaders, particularly Baba Bisi Akande, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi ii, the National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant stakeholders, demanding the immediate restructuring of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The petition, according to the group, will also demand a comprehensive review of the programme's leadership, scholarship allocations, beneficiary records and representation of non-Ijaw-speaking communities, alongside the removal of its current administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro.

The group warned that the continued situation could become a serious political liability for President Tinubu, particularly in the Yoruba-speaking oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta, potentially undermining his re-election prospects in the region.

It further disclosed plans to mobilise its members and the Yoruba community in Abuja for peaceful picketing of the Presidential Amnesty Programme's office until the Federal Government addresses the grievances, removes Otuaro and restructures the programme.

While reaffirming its support for President Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, the group maintained that supporting the President does not mean remaining silent in the face of perceived injustice against Yoruba communities.

It called on Yoruba leaders, traditional rulers, political stakeholders and civil society organisations to intervene before the growing dissatisfaction degenerates into a wider crisis of confidence and threatens the fragile peace in the Niger Delta.

The group particularly advised President Tinubu not to allow the actions or perceived failures of individuals managing the Amnesty Programme to undermine his administration's political fortunes and relationship with oil-producing communities in the Yoruba-speaking part of the Niger Delta.

It insisted that the President must act decisively, stressing that the Renewed Hope Agenda must guarantee fairness, inclusion and equal opportunities for all Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic or linguistic identity.

According to the organisation, the time for presidential intervention is now, before an avoidable administrative controversy develops into a serious political and security challenge.