The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s love for the Niger Delta following the graduation of nine foreign postgraduate scholarship students of PAP from their various universities in the United Kingdom.
A statement signed on Thursday by Otuaro’s Special Assistant on Media, Igoniko Oduma, said the nine students successfully graduated from their master’s degree programs.
The successful scholars were described as the first graduates in the offshore postgraduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by Otuaro for the 2024-2025 academic session.
They graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, the University of Dundee, and the University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.
The statement said 711 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship beneficiaries were expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.
Otuaro, during a graduation reception for the scholars in London, congratulated them, saying they completed their programmes in record time to demonstrate their seriousness.
He said they justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.
He said, “We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or postgraduate level”.
Otuaro reiterated his unwavering commitment to expanding the scholarship scheme to create more opportunities for indigent students of the Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.
Otuaro said it was for this reason that he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session, with 200 for foreign scholarships.
Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.
Within the period, he also deployed 162 students from the region for postgraduate programmes in targeted disciplines in UK universities.
Otuaro said, “This is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.
“Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.
“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”
