“9,000 Youths Empowered, Niger Delta Future Secured as PAP Scholarships Drive Peace and Prosperity”
By Passman Akpos
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has described the PAP scholarship scheme as a critical vehicle for securing a better and more sustainable future for the Niger Delta.
Otuaro made this assertion on Thursday in Abuja while declaring open the fifth batch of the two-day Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Mediation Training for PAP Stakeholders. The programme was organised by the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the National Defence College (AANDEC) at the Nigerian Army War College.
According to Otuaro, the large-scale deployment of scholarship beneficiaries to universities within and outside Nigeria reflects the programme’s deliberate strategy to use formal education as a foundation for long-term peace, development, and prosperity in the Niger Delta.
He said his administration has placed strong emphasis on education as a means of empowering youths to become future leaders and drivers of socio-economic growth, stability, and security 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. “So far, between 2024 and 2025, we have deployed over 9,000 scholarship students to universities within and outside Nigeria. In-country deployment alone this year is 4,500.”
He explained that the investment in education is a forward-looking strategy aimed at preparing the next generation to address the challenges of peacebuilding, development, and security.
“If we don’t equip our youths today with education, tomorrow would not be assured. It is time to prepare for the rainy day, and that is why we are deliberately investing in the education of our young ones,” he added.
Otuaro expressed confidence that the beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme would value the opportunity, noting that the programme has reached nearly all communities in the Niger Delta over the past two years.
On the capacity-building workshop, the PAP Administrator said it was designed to consolidate peacebuilding efforts in the Niger Delta in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He stressed that stakeholders at the training have a vital role to play in sustaining peace, describing them as leaders in their respective communities.
He called on Niger Delta stakeholders to strengthen unity and resolve regional issues internally without external interference, urging participants to serve as peace ambassadors and role models of stability for the region.
“Peacebuilding should be your watchword going forward,” Otuaro charged.
The PAP helmsman expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his consistent support of the programme, noting that the President is satisfied 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 PAP.
Otuaro further thanked the management of the Nigerian Army War College, the resource persons, as well as the leadership and members of AANDEC for partnering with the Presidential Amnesty Programme to deepen the peacebuilding process in the region.
The event drew PAP stakeholders from across the Niger Delta, reaffirming the programme’s commitment to education, dialogue, and sustainable peace.
