The Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro has pledged to sustain peace, security and development in the Niger Delta region in line with President Bola Tinubu’s vision.
Otuaro spoke when he visited the Igbinedion University, Okada and Benson Idahosa University, Benin, both in Edo, to interact with the management and students of the institutions on the PAP scholarship scheme.
Mr Igoniko Oduma, Special Assistant on Media to Otuaro, in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday in Yenagoa quoted the administrator as saying that the implementation of amnesty programme is to build confidence in the region and garner support for the Federal Government.
He said: “The Presidential Amnesty Programme is crucial for fostering enduring peace in the area.
“By implementing the scheme efficiently and effectively, we can garner greater support for the Federal Government’s efforts to promote peace, security and development in the Niger Delta.
“That is the vision of President Bola Tinubu which I seek to execute. He believes in sustaining the peace of the Niger Delta.
“With the president’s belief in the Presidential Amnesty Programme, we need to work harder to ensure that the confidence reposed in us is strengthened,” he said.
Otuaro, said he acknowledged that the Igbinedion University was the first private tertiary educational institution to accept PAP scholarship for its students, saying that their graduates were part of the success story of the amnesty programme.
The PAP boss said the amnesty programme office would deepen collaboration with its partners with a view to expanding the scope of operations.
He applauded the founder of Igbinedion University, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and the university’s management on their 25th anniversary celebration this year.
While interacting with the PAP scholarship students of both universities, and highlighting some of their challenges, Otuaro assured them that the amnesty programme office would address the problems accordingly.
He urged them to shun social vices and take their studies seriously in order to secure their future.
The Vice Chancellor of the Igbinedion University, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, said that 26 PAP scholarship students in the institution had so far made first class.
Ezemonye, in his remarks, said that apart from the 26 first class graduates, many other PAP scholarship students also got distinctions in professional courses like medicine, nursing, medical laboratory among others.
The VC of Igbinedion University noted that the programme was impacting greatly on the students.
He promised a strengthened relation with the PAP in the area of offering opportunities to students in competitive courses like medicine and surgery, nursing, pharmacy, Law and others especially with the recent increase in its admission quota.
He said that the institution, which is celebrating its silver jubilee anniversary, ensured that there was no discrimination against amnesty programme students as they share hostels and other facilities with other undergraduates.
Also, the Acting VC of Bishop Idahosa University, Prof. Johnson Oyedeji, said the PAP Administrator was an embodiment of encouragement and hope of better days ahead for the scholarship students as well as the existing partnership.
“What we are doing is for national security. We are motivated by a desire to sustain the peace for increased oil production,” he said.
The President of the Amnesty Students Association, Wilcox Zaccheaus, commended the PAP Administrator for being the first administrator to visit the students to get direct information from them in their various institutions.
He appealed for increase in their financial and textbook allowances as well as provision of laptops among others.
