August 19, (THEWILL) – The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has encouraged students under the programme’s foreign scholarship scheme, to justify the Federal Government’s investment in them by taking their studies seriously.
Otuaro gave the advice during his meeting with the PAP scholarship students, currently studying in the United Kingdom, on Sunday.
Otuaro said in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Igoniko Oduma, on Monday, that much was expected from the students in their academic performance to justify the Federal Government’s investment in their education.
Otuaro told them that the PAP scholarship scheme had produced large number of graduates who made first-class and second-class upper divisions in competitive disciplines, including the sciences and clinical sciences.
He urged them to sustain the story of academic excellence by their counterparts back home in the foreign country.
According to him, many PAP graduates are doing very well in their post-graduation endeavours and contributing significantly to national growth and development.
The PAP boss stated that his administration was putting measures in place to make the scholarship scheme more robust to bridge the human capacity gap in the Niger Delta.
Otuaro said he would continually prioritise the scholarship and welfare of students studying in Nigerian and foreign universities under the ongoing reintegration phase of the programme.
He said this was in tandem with the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the peace, security, stability, and socio-economic development of the Niger Delta, as encapsulated in his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Otuaro stated that Tinubu was delighted by the success stories and the sterling academic performances of the programme’s scholarship students at home and abroad.
He said the president, encouraged by the excellent academic feats, had expressed a strong commitment to supporting the Office to deepen initiatives in educational and vocational training for youths in the region.
He thanked the President for his favourable disposition to the Office and his efforts to foster the transformation of the region through his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Otuaro, therefore, urged the students to be good ambassadors of the PAP, their respective communities, the Niger Delta and the Federal Government, by shunning negative acts that would bring a bad reputation to the country as a whole.
Otuaro, while addressing the students, said, “As PAP scholarship students abroad, it is very important that you study hard and aim to make the best grades in your academics.
“That is what you have been sent here to do, and that is what you are here to do and nothing else. Nigeria deserves nothing less than good conduct and sterling academic performances from you.
“We will always prioritize your scholarship and welfare because this is one avenue through which we can achieve our goal of closing the existing gap in the human capital development of our region.
“Let me take this opportunity to inform you that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very happy with the fact that PAP scholarship students are making first-class and second-class upper divisions in various courses of study, particularly in the sciences, engineering, and clinical sciences.
“Therefore, the Niger Delta is properly captured in Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is why he is very supportive of the Office in terms of the educational and vocational programmes we carry out to deepen the reintegration phase of the programme for the benefit of our people.
“We are immensely grateful to Mr President, and that is why I urge you all to take your studies seriously and don’t disappoint the Federal Government, the PAP Office, and the Niger Delta region where you come from.”
In their reaction, the students expressed gratitude to the PAP boss for visiting them and prioritizing their scholarship and welfare.
The are particularly happy that the PAP boss took the decision to personally visit them which is clearly indicative of government’s seriousness to their education and welfare.
They promised to be good ambassadors and to do their best to justify the investment in their education and future.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
