By FIDELIS SORIWEI

Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), cuts the image of a man who came prepared to make a deliberate and targeted impact in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Although, he had a lot of options open to him to ensure that the fragile peace in the region was strengthened to make way for increased economic activities and development in the nation’s oil-producing communities, Otuaro holds the view that human resource development remains a critical component of the peace process.

As a grassroots player abreast of the Niger Delta story and the endemic challenges in the region, he decided not to adopt a haphazard approach in the quest for the lasting peace required for enhanced development in the area.

It is Otuaro’s contention that deliberate efforts to tackle the human capital gap in the Niger Delta is central to the realization of the general desire for lasting peace in the region. This has been the refrain of his administration, which takes a frontline place in activities at the PAP.

While he did not discard the critical place of vocational training for the teeming youths population and those in need of it, he did not also leave anybody in doubt that education would form the fulcrum of his policy thrust in the Programme.

In some of his early public outings shortly after his appointment to lead the PAP, in March 2024, Otuaro did not hide his burning desire to take quality education to the doorsteps of indigent students from the region's oil-producing communities. Fortunately for him, he inherited a PAP that already had a scholarship scheme under its formal education component. Naturally, what Otuaro did was to intensify efforts to take the scale of the PAP scholarship to an amazing level.

In pursuing this laudable project, Otuaro knew that he had some inhibitions to tackle to achieve his objective of increasing access to quality education at the tertiary level in the region. He was in no doubt that the PAP's annual budget of N65 billion would not suffice in the remarkable difference and the high target he had set for himself. While working with the available budget, he approached the relevant quarters for increased budgetary allocation for the PAP to enable him to explore long-term plans to entrench peace in the Niger Delta. Thankfully, his request fell on fertile ground as his plea for the desired upward budgetary adjustment was granted.

In March 2024 when Otuaro took over as the PAP Administrator, he inherited a total of 1,964 students under the agency's scholarship scheme in Nigerian universities and 38 students in foreign universities.

Records at the education department of the PAP shows that Otuaro has demonstrated unflinching commitment to his promise to make a noticeable difference with the PAP in the two deployments he has made since taking over the mantle of leadership in the office.

Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years. He deployed 3800 students within Nigeria in the 2024/2025 academic year, and has so far deployed 3900 in the 2025/2026 academic session to the admiration of the people of the region. He also availed 162 students from the region the opportunity to pursue post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.

In less than two years, Otuaro has deployed more students for the PAP scholarship scheme than all the previous heads of the PAP put together. His passion for education knows no limitation and has allowed his activities to tell this story.

Since inception in 2009, authoritative records at the PAP shows that about 5,798 students have so far graduated from the scheme.

One unique aspect of the deployment under Otuaro is the sharp departure from previous practices where scholarship opportunities were hijacked and sold. To sanitize the system, he set up a closely monitored committee to ensure deployments from his office under close supervision.

He also sent out the stern warning that the PAP scholarship scheme meant for the people of the region is free, cautioning potential beneficiaries never to pay for it.

The PAP Administrator has also used every interaction he has had with beneficiaries to repeat the passionate appeal to them to utilize the opportunity of the scholarship maximally in the interest of their families, the Niger Delta and indeed the country. He urged the students to justify the huge investment in their education by the Federal Government by studying hard to graduate with excellent grades.

He has, as expected, attributed these great strides to the massive support of President Bola Tinubu, and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who have demonstrated genuine interest in the peace and development of the region.

"We want the scholarship programme to impact more students and communities in the Niger Delta. That's why we have expanded it and increased formal education opportunities.

"We want you to take this opportunity very seriously so that the government, too, will be encouraged. I know how much support His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu GCFR, gives to the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

"Mr President and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are very impressed with what we are doing. On your behalf I would like to, once again, thank His Excellency and the NSA for giving you this life-changing opportunity. We are confident that Mr. President and the NSA will continue to support us,” Otuaro said during a recent interactive session with beneficiaries in the UK.

Through his reforms and expansion of the scholarship programme, Otuaro has no doubt intensified a process that is invaluable to the desired enthronement of lasting peace in the Niger Delta. To many, these efforts will yield unprecedented results in families and communities in the Niger Delta in years to come.

•Fidelis Soriwei publishes the network.ng

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