The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has said that President Bola Tinubu's deliberate effort to reduce the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta is firmly on course.

He stressed that this was evident in the over 9,000 scholarship beneficiaries deployed by the PAP to onshore and offshore universities for undergraduate and post-graduate programmes.

According to Dr Otuaro, this is part of the reason President Tinubu backed the programme’s decision to expand access to higher education for the Niger Delta youths and safeguard the region’s future.

He stated this while admonishing another batch of 35 offshore post-graduate beneficiaries, who departed Nigeria for England and Scotland in the United Kingdom, on Monday, to have the future of the region and the nation at the back of their mind.

“The deliberate effort to reduce the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta is on course under President Bola Tinubu, and he is resolutely committed to it”, he said.

“This is reflected by the over 9,000 scholarship beneficiaries we have deployed within and outside the country because of the President's favourable disposition to expansion of educational sponsorships and other initiatives of the programme.”

The scholars’ fields of study include forensic audit, construction engineering management, data science analytics, law, software engineering, oil and gas engineering, cyber security, global public health, fintech analytics, among others.

They were part of the 150 overseas post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries who participated in the pre-departure orientation organized in August. Two batches of 54 and 31 students had previously departed for the UK.

The PAP Administrator, who has dispatched 243 offshore scholarships this year, expressed appreciation to the President for giving the region a priority in his Renewed Hope Agenda.

He urged the scholars to shun acts inimical to their stay and academic pursuits overseas, noting that they would be the vanguard of sustainable peace, stability, community development and nation-building in the future.

"You are expected to focus on your studies because that is the primary purpose of your academic journey overseas. Gird yourself, go for excellence, and don't engage in activities that will endanger you and your studies", he said.

Dr Otuaro maintained that President Tinubu would ensure sustained scholarship opportunities when he is reelected next year, and called on people of the Niger Delta to reciprocate his sincere love for the region and vote him for continuity.

He also expressed his gratitude to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for supervising the programme wholeheartedly to make the desired impact in the region.

Dr Otuaro further commended PAP stakeholders for playing their role effectively in the collective effort to sustain peace and security in the region.

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