Ijaw group hails Otuaro over PAP scholarship programme - The Guardian Nigeria News

The Ijaw Youth Network (IYN) has commended the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, over the programme’s deployment of Niger Delta youths to universities in the United Kingdom for postgraduate studies.

The group also praised President Bola Tinubu for his administration’s support for the PAP, while pledging to mobilise support for the President ahead of the 2027 general election.

IYN President, Frank Ebikabo, and Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor, made the remarks in a statement issued on Sunday.

The group cited the PAP’s 2026 offshore postgraduate scholarship programme, under which the agency says 243 beneficiaries have been deployed to universities in the United Kingdom this year.

A group of 150 beneficiaries underwent pre-departure orientation at the PAP headquarters in Abuja in August, following earlier deployments involving 93 scholars in January and May.

The 150 beneficiaries have subsequently been departing for the UK in batches to begin their postgraduate programmes.

The courses being pursued include software engineering, cybersecurity, global public health, oil and gas engineering, law, fintech analytics, construction engineering management, forensic audit and data science analytics.

The IYN described the expansion of educational opportunities under the programme as an important investment in human capital development in the Niger Delta.

“Dr Otuaro has shown what purposeful leadership can achieve,” the group said.

“These young men and women will return as engineers, lawyers, analysts, health experts and technology professionals, ready to contribute to the growth and development of the Niger Delta and the nation.”

The organisation said educational interventions could contribute to addressing skills gaps in the Niger Delta while expanding opportunities available to young people from the region.

It also credited the Federal Government and the Office of the National Security Adviser for their support for the programme.

“As key observers in the Niger Delta, we have noted the tremendous support this programme enjoys from the Federal Government under President Tinubu and ably supervised by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,” the statement said.

The PAP operates under the supervision of the Office of the National Security Adviser.

The IYN said the beneficiaries received laptops to support their studies abroad.

The PAP has described education as one of the components of its efforts to support human capital development and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.

Otuaro had said during the August pre-departure programme that investment in education was intended to help develop expertise that could contribute to communities across the region when beneficiaries complete their studies.

The IYN said the scholarship initiative should be sustained and argued that providing young people with educational and professional opportunities could contribute to economic empowerment in the oil-producing region.

Beyond its commendation of the scholarship programme, the organisation also used its statement to make a political declaration ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

It called on people of the Niger Delta to support Tinubu at the polls, arguing that the administration’s backing for the PAP deserved political support from the region.

“The President has stood firmly with the Niger Delta and with the Presidential Amnesty Programme, and he has stood by the Administrator as he delivers these wonderful results,” the group said.

“It is only proper that the people of the region repay this steadfastness with their support at the polls in 2027. We pledge to mobilise for him.”

The call represents the political position of the IYN and comes as political groups and other organisations begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general election.

Otuaro himself had made a similar appeal during the August pre-departure orientation, urging people in the Niger Delta to support Tinubu in 2027 while crediting the President with backing the expansion of the scholarship programme.

The IYN maintained that sustained investment in education and skills development through the PAP could contribute to longer-term economic opportunities and stability in the Niger Delta.