The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has sent 150 Niger Delta youths to various universities in the United Kingdom for postgraduate studies under its scholarship scheme.
This brings to 243, the number of beneficiaries sent to UK universities by the programme this year following the deployment of 93 beneficiaries in January and May.
Speaking at the pre-departure orientation for the beneficiaries at the PAP headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, the administrator of the programme, Dennis Brutu Otuaro, said the initiative was an investment in the future of the Niger Delta and Nigeria.
He said the scholarship scheme was designed to bridge the region’s human capital development gap, sustain peace and stability and provide young people with opportunities to acquire specialised skills.
Otuaro said: ‘We are again here to send some of the most brilliant and vibrant youths of the Niger Delta for post-graduate studies in select disciplines in the UK. We are able to do this because our father and leader, Mr President is committed to the peace, security and development of the Niger Delta.
‘I must say that as a people we should make sure we vote massively to ensure his victory in the 2027 general elections. This is the best way to show gratitude to a president who has taken these deliberate steps to help our people and the region.
‘This year, in January and May, we had sent 93 beneficiaries for offshore post-graduate programmes. Now, we have 150 we are sending abroad, and about 56 made first class, while about 140 made second-class upper division. We already have 270 in UK universities before these recent deployments.
‘This exercise underscores our commitment to ensuring that the Niger Delta youths have greater access to higher education within and outside Nigeria as we build a solid foundation for the region’s future.’
The PAP administrator said the programme currently had 8,700 beneficiaries in in-country institutions, adding that the number would increase.