The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has described the programme’s scholarship scheme as a critical vehicle for securing a sustainable and prosperous future for the Niger Delta.
Otuaro stated this on Thursday while declaring open the fifth batch of the two-day Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders, organised by the PAP office in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) at the Nigerian Army War College, Abuja.
He said the large-scale deployment of Niger Delta youths to universities within and outside the country was a deliberate strategy to leverage formal education as a foundation for long-term peace, stability and development in the region.
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According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Igoniko Oduma, the PAP boss explained that his administration has placed strong emphasis on education as a means of empowering youths to become drivers of socio-economic growth and lasting peace.
“We have seriously focused on education, and the scholarship programme is a proper vehicle for a better tomorrow for our region. Between 2024 and 2025, over 9,000 scholarship students have been deployed to universities within and outside Nigeria, with 4,500 deployed locally this year alone,” Otuaro said.
He noted that the initiative was part of a conscious effort to prepare the next generation for the challenges of peacebuilding, development, security and economic advancement, stressing that the future of the Niger Delta depends on the quality of investment made in its youths today.
“If we do not equip our youths with education today, tomorrow will not be assured. That is why we are deliberately investing in the education of our young ones across communities in the region,” he added.
Otuaro explained that the capacity-building workshop was designed to strengthen the PAP’s peacebuilding framework in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He urged participants, whom he described as leaders and key stakeholders, to take ownership of conflict resolution and peace initiatives within their communities.
He called on Niger Delta stakeholders to close ranks and resolve internal challenges without external interference, urging them to serve as role models and peace ambassadors of the Tinubu administration in the region.
The PAP helmsman expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his unwavering support for the programme, noting that the President is pleased with the prevailing peace and stability in the Niger Delta. He also commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his strategic guidance and oversight.
Otuaro further thanked the management of the Nigerian Army War College, the resource persons and the leadership of AANDEC for partnering with the PAP to deepen the peacebuilding process in the Niger Delta.
