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Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, has assured the people of the Niger Delta that President Bola Tinubu would continue to support the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to deliver on its mandate for the socio-economic advancement and development of the region and indeed the country.
Idris spoke at the PAP interactive session with its foreign scholarship beneficiaries organised in London by the PAP administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, on the sidelines of President Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday.
This was just as the PAP foreign scholarship beneficiaries presented an award of appreciation to the President for supporting the programme, which has resulted in the large-scale onshore and offshore deployments of beneficiaries for various undergraduate and post-graduate studies.
Among the dignitaries that graced the event were the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; the Special Assistant on Diaspora Matters to the Governor of Delta State, Mrs Gloria Aghaghovia; officials of the Ijaw People’s Association, Great Britain and Ireland and other Niger Delta groups.
Idris, who received the award on behalf of President Tinubu at the event, said PAP under Otuaro’s leadership is building a community of intellectuals.
According to him, there is a need for the President to continually fund the PAP, stressing that the programme had changed the hitherto negative narrative of the Niger Delta for good.
“At this moment that President Bola Tinubu is paying a state visit to the United Kingdom, the first of its kind in nearly four decades, this (interactive session) is one side event that the President is really proud of.
“I have received the plaque from you on behalf of the President. I am going to deliver this plaque to him. I am going to tell him what I have seen here and there is the need for him to continue to support the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
“All of you young men and women that are benefiting from the Presidential Amnesty Programme here in the UK are over 223, undergoing various undergraduate and post-graduate studies; this is very heartwarming.
“This is a programme that is producing a community of intellectuals that are not only interested in the development of the Niger Delta, but also Nigeria as a whole.”
He commended Otuaro for his hard work and the impact of the programme on the region’s youths and communities.
He also urged the foreign scholarship students to be good ambassadors of Nigeria in the Uk, and also take their studies seriously in order to attain academic excellence.
“I am sure President Bola Tinubu will be proud to see all of you here participating proudly and benefiting from the programme that is aimed towards not just the restoration of the Niger Delta region, but having to close the human capital development gap that we so dearly need in our dear country.
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“Mr President is committed to ensuring that all parts of Nigeria benefit from the dividends of democracy and from the prosperity that he promised Nigerians when he took office,” he added.
Senator Lokpobiri praised President Tinubu for his love for the Ijaw and the Niger Delta people.
He also lauded the achievements of the PAP administrator and expressed appreciation to the President for appointing him.
The minister described Nigeria as one of the safest countries in the world and that since the inauguration of the present administration, “the Niger Delta has offered it the peace and stability that is needed by the oil and gas industry.”
He urged the students not be hoodwinked by the propaganda of any coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections as President Tinubu was resolutely committed to the development of the region.
In his remarks, Otuaro noted that Tinubu had never withheld support for the programme even as he backed reforms initiated to reposition it for better service delivery to the people of Niger Delta.
He highlighted the fact that all the recent remarkable successes recorded by the PAP, including the deployment of 8,205 scholarship beneficiaries in the last two years were enabled by the President’s massive support, adding that the engagement with the foreign scholarship beneficiaries underscored his gratitude to him.
Otuaro said: “Since coming to power, our dear President has embraced the programme wholly and expanded it, thereby providing opportunities for many youngmen and women from the Niger Delta to study in institutions of higher learning both at home and abroad.
“The programme has, over the years, engendered sustainable peace, security and development in the Niger Delta, as well as served as a key catalyst for the socio-economic transformation of the region.
“We are, therefore, firmly committed to creating more opportunities for our youths to have greater access to higher education. The overriding objective, like I have stated, is to empower our youths with the requisite education and knowledge that will enable them compete favourably with their peers and explore the job market to be gainfully engaged.”
Otuaro, who emphasised that vocational training would be upscaled, also extended deep appreciation to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for effectively supervising the programme to achieve results in line with the President’s Renewed Hope agenda.
He reiterated his call on the people of Niger Delta to reciprocate Tinubu’s genuine intentions for the region and support his reelection massively because he would do more for the area.
