The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has encouraged students under the Programme's foreign scholarship scheme to justify the Federal Government's investment in them by taking their studies seriously.
Otuaro advised on Sunday during his meeting with the PAP scholarship students currently studying in the United Kingdom.
On Monday, Otuaro said in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Igoniko Oduma, that much was expected from the students in their academic performance to justify the Federal Government's investment in their education.
Otuaro told them that the PAP scholarship scheme had produced graduates who made first-class and second-class upper divisions in competitive disciplines, including the sciences and clinical sciences.
He urged them to sustain the story of academic excellence by their counterparts back home in the foreign country.
He says many PAP graduates are doing well in their post-graduation endeavours and contributing significantly to national growth and development.
The PAP boss stated that his administration was putting measures in place to make the scholarship scheme more robust to bridge the human capacity gap in the Niger Delta.
Otuaro said he would continually prioritise the scholarship and welfare of students studying in Nigerian and foreign universities during the programme's ongoing reintegration phase.
He said this was in tandem with the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the peace, security, stability, and socio-economic development of the Niger Delta, as encapsulated in his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Otuaro stated that Tinubu was delighted by the success stories and the sterling academic performances of the programme's scholarship students at home and abroad.
He said the president, encouraged by the excellent academic feats, had expressed a strong commitment to supporting the Office in deepening initiatives in educational and vocational training for youths in the region.
He thanked the President for his favorable disposition toward the Office and his efforts to foster the region's transformation through his Renewed Hope Agenda.
Otuaro, therefore, urged the students to be good ambassadors of the PAP, their respective communities, the Niger Delta and the Federal Government by shunning harmful acts that would bring a bad reputation to the country as a whole.
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Otuaro addressed the students and said, "As PAP scholarship students abroad, it is essential that you study hard and aim to make the best academic grades.
"That is what you have been sent here to do, and that is what you are here to do and nothing else. Nigeria deserves nothing less than good conduct and sterling academic performances from you.
"We will always prioritise your scholarship and welfare because this is one avenue through which we can achieve our goal of closing the existing gap in the human capital development of our region.
"Let me take this opportunity to inform you that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very happy that PAP scholarship students are making first-class and second-class upper divisions in various courses of study, particularly in the sciences, engineering, and clinical sciences.
"Therefore, the Niger Delta is adequately captured in Mr President's Renewed Hope Agenda, which is why he is very supportive of the Office in terms of the educational and vocational programmes we carry out to deepen the reintegration phase of the programme for the benefit of our people.
"We are immensely grateful to Mr President, and that is why I urge you all to take your studies seriously and don't disappoint the Federal Government, the PAP Office, and the Niger Delta region where you come from."
In their reaction, the students expressed gratitude to the PAP boss for visiting them and prioritising their scholarship and welfare.
They are pleased that the PAP boss personally visited them, which indicates the government's seriousness about their education and welfare.
They promised to be good ambassadors and to do their best to justify the investment in their education and future.
