•••We Are Strengthening Human Capital Base Of Niger Delta- Otuaro

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday, challenged students under the Presidential Amnesty Programme scholarship scheme to be shining examples in their universities of study.

He gave the charge in Warri in his remarks at the orientation programme for 1, 700 scholarship beneficiaries deployed in various Nigerian institutions by the PAP for the 2024/2025 academic session.

Ribadu, represented by his Special Assistant on Niger Delta, Mr Goodluck Ebelo, urged the undergraduates to take full advantage of their sponsorship to acquire higher education and contribute to national growth and development after graduation.

The NSA further told the students that expectations concerning their academic journey were very high, just as he advised them to be well-behaved throughout the duration of their courses of study.

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He said: “With this scholarship given to you, you have a huge opportunity to excel in your studies. Please, be shining lights in your different institutions of study and the expectation is that you will be very good students of this country.”

In his keynote address, the PAP Administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, noted that the deployment of the beneficiaries signified a consolidation of the Niger Delta human resources base through the scholarship scheme.

Otuaro said formal education was a critical component of the PAP’s intervention aimed at creating opportunities for the youths of the region, particularly indigent students from impacted communities, to achieve their dream of getting university education.

He said: “By sponsoring you for undergraduate studies, the PAP has taken a bold step to strategically deepen the Niger Delta formal education trajectory of bridging the human capital development gap to foster the region’s social-economic status. In fact, this is my desire and vision for our people.

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“The selection process for the award of scholarship to beneficiaries for the 2024/2025 academic session was open, transparent and thorough and I take responsibility for the process. We have, as a result, deployed about 1,700 students for this academic session. My leadership would always maintain high standards and work hard to ensure everyone was fairly treated in the selection process.”

He urged the students to be peace ambassadors of the Niger Delta, focus on their studies, shun cultism and other social vices, while respecting the laws of their schools in order for them “to be found worthy in character and in learning” at graduation.

Otuaro said that President Bola Tinubu was very delighted at the incredible academic progress that PAP scholarship beneficiaries were making in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

He also expressed appreciation to President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser for their tremendous support for the programme, and avowed commitment to peace, human capital development, and economic growth of the region via the renewed hope agenda.

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While reiterating his pledge to do his best to implement the programme’s objectives in line with Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda for the region, the PAP helmsman, again, thanked the president for giving him the opportunity to serve the people.

Earlier, the PAP’s Head of Formal Education, Dr Charles Ariye, had urged the beneficiaries to realise that the scholarship award was more than a monetary award because it represented their dedication to their personal progress, development and success.

He, therefore, encouraged them to use this opportunity to better themselves by learning from their academic mentors and also contribute to their academic communities.

In their separate goodwill messages, the Pere of Akugbene-Mein Kingdom and first Vice Chairman, Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM King S. P Luke; and the Founder of Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, Pastor Reuben Wilson, admonished the students to avoid shortcuts to academic success.

Some of the beneficiaries, including Blessing Appollos (Bayelsa State, Igbinedion University); Fyneman John-Pere (Edo State, Edwin Clark University) and Ezekiel Appeal, (Delta State, Novena University), thanked the PAP Administrator for granting them the scholarship, saying the gesture would help them a great deal in their studies.