The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has charged 31 Niger Delta beneficiaries of the programme’s overseas postgraduate scholarship to pursue academic excellence and justify the government’s investment in their education.
The PAP administrator expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his support for the programme, saying the Niger Delta was benefiting from the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
‘The President has demonstrated genuine commitment to the development of our region and the youths’ education,’ Otuaro said.
Otuaro gave the charge when the latest batch of 31 scholarship beneficiaries departed Nigeria for the United Kingdom on Friday to commence postgraduate studies in various universities.
A statement signed by Otuaro’s Special Assistant on Media, Igoniko Oduma, said the scholars, who departed Abuja and arrived in London, were part of 150 beneficiaries, that attended a pre-departure briefing organised by the PAP in August following their deployment.
They were preceded by another batch of 54 beneficiaries, who left the country last week.
The beneficiaries will undertake postgraduate programmes in forensic audit, construction engineering management, data science and analytics, law, software engineering, oil and gas engineering, cybersecurity, global public health and fintech analytics, among others.
Otuaro, who has so far deployed 243 overseas postgraduate scholarships this year, urged the scholars to remain focused, disciplined and responsible throughout their studies.
He said the beneficiaries had a responsibility to reciprocate the support of the President Bola Tinubu administration by excelling in their chosen fields.
‘Those selected for the programme have no option than to appreciate the President Bola Tinubu administration’s goodwill by excelling academically to justify the sacrifice made for them by the government,’ he said.
According to him, the scholarship scheme is.part of efforts to bridge the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta and produce a new generation of professionals capable of contributing to the region’s development.
Otuaro said: ‘The huge benefits of the investment in the Niger Delta youths’ education will be felt in the years to come.
‘Apart from closing the human capital development gap, we are building a community of intellectuals that will be the light of our region in the interest of peace, stability and development of communities in the country.’
He maintained that education remained a critical instrument for achieving sustainable peace, stability and socio-economic development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria.
He also commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his support and contributions to the implementation of the PAP mandate.
Otuaro further thanked stakeholders of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for their cooperation, while reiterating his commitment to using human capital development to promote sustainable peace, stability and development in the Niger Delta.