Two scholarship beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Joy Jonny and Prince-Timothy Wokoma have graduated with distinctions and cash awards from British universities highlighting the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s investment in education and human capital development in the Niger Delta.
Jonny won the George and Lilian Adam Smith Prize at the University of Aberdeen along with a £500 cash award for achieving the highest dissertation mark.
In a letter dated October 28 2026 the Head of the School of Social Sciences Prof. Joanne McEvoy congratulated Jonny on her outstanding academic performance.
The letter stated ‘I am delighted to be able to confirm that your achievement is to be recognised through the award of the George and Lilian Adam Smith Prize. The prize of £500 is awarded to the student with the highest dissertation mark’.
Wokoma meanwhile graduated as the best overall student in the Agriculture and Environmental Science programme and received a £100 award from his university.
Congratulating him the institution said in a letter: ‘I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the award which recognises your hard work and commitment to your studies. The award is only made for performance of sufficient merit so you have done an excellent job. Well done!’
Reacting to the achievements the Media Director of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG) Bayelsa State chapter Engr. Udengs Eradiri described them as evidence of the dividends of the Tinubu administration’s deliberate investment in the Niger Delta through the PAP.
Eradiri a former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide said available statistics showed that the PAP had sponsored more than 9000 Niger Delta scholarship beneficiaries within and outside Nigeria under Tinubu.
He added that the programme had produced more than 111 master’s and doctoral graduates alongside numerous first-class and second-class honours graduates under the administration.
Eradiri commended the PAP Administrator Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro for leveraging Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to develop an educational template focused on closing the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta.
He said Otuaro had remained focused and committed to leading a purpose-driven PAP free from distractions contract controversies and allegations of fund mismanagement.
According to him Tinubu’s commitment to releasing funds required for the programme’s activities has helped eliminate protests that previously characterised the scheme’s operations.
He said ‘We commend Otuaro for reforming PAP and redirecting the programme’s focus on closing the human capital needs of the Niger Delta. PAP under Tinubu has produced a critical mass of employable Niger Delta indigenes.
‘Tinubu inherited PAP at a time when there was a debate about scrapping the programme because of its past failures. But because of his love for the Niger Delta the President chose to sustain and reform it to deliver development and prosperity to the region.
‘With the feat already attained by PAP it is crystal clear that President Tinubu has the best interest of the Niger Delta at heart. He has demonstrated commitment and sincerity in addressing one of the critical needs of the Niger Delta which is human capital development’.
Eradiri said the programme’s achievements made Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 imperative arguing that the President has shown a clear commitment to the region’s sustainable development.
He urged Niger Delta stakeholders to reject candidates making what he described as unrealistic promises and to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second term.
‘The examples of Joy and Wokoma are evidence that President Tinubu’s massive investments in Niger Delta education through the PAP are yielding the expected benefits.
‘He has been tested and trusted in the Niger Delta. He has a template for the sustainable development of our region. This is no time to experiment with other candidates who are making bogus and unrealistic claims. It is time for all stakeholders to mobilise massively for Tinubu’s re-election to enable him to consolidate the gains in the Niger Delta.’