Abuja — The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has described the programme’s scholarship scheme as a critical pathway to securing a better and more sustainable future for the Niger Delta region.
Dr Otuaro made the assertion on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the fifth batch of the two-day Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders, held at the Nigerian Army War College, Abuja. The workshop was organised by the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC).
Declaring the training open, Otuaro said the PAP’s decision to massively deploy scholarship beneficiaries to universities within and outside Nigeria was driven by the need to leverage formal education as a tool for long-term peace, development and stability in the Niger Delta.
According to him, the programme’s strong emphasis on education reflects a deliberate strategy to invest in young people and prepare them to become drivers of prosperity and socio-economic growth in the region.
“We have seriously focused on education, and the scholarship programme is a proper vehicle for a better tomorrow for our region,” Otuaro said. “Between 2024 and 2025, we have deployed over 9,000 scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria, with 4,500 deployed in-country this year alone.”
He stressed that equipping youths with education today was essential to safeguarding the future of the Niger Delta, noting that failure to do so could jeopardise peace, security and development in the years ahead.
“These are deliberate efforts to prepare our region for tomorrow. If we don’t equip our youths today with education, tomorrow would not be assured,” he added, expressing confidence that beneficiaries would maximise the opportunity provided by the programme.
Otuaro noted that the capacity-building workshop was designed to consolidate the PAP’s peacebuilding initiatives in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He urged participants to take ownership of the peace process and resolve regional challenges internally without external interference.
The PAP administrator described the participants as key stakeholders and leaders, calling on them to serve as role models, peace ambassadors and champions of stability in the Niger Delta. He emphasised that peacebuilding should remain their guiding principle going forward.
Otuaro expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his continued support for the PAP, noting that the President was pleased with the prevailing peace and stability in the Niger Delta. He also commended the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for his encouragement and strategic oversight of the programme.
He further thanked the management of the Nigerian Army War College, the resource persons, and the leadership and members of AANDEC for partnering with the PAP to strengthen peacebuilding efforts in the region.
