Another Batch of PAP Scholars Departs for UK Studies

31 offshore postgraduate scholarship beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme departed Nigeria on Friday, arriving in London to begin studies at various UK universities.

The scholars form part of a wider cohort of 150 beneficiaries who took part in a pre-departure briefing organised in August, following their deployment by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro. They were preceded by a batch of 54 beneficiaries who left the country the previous week.

The beneficiaries will pursue postgraduate programmes in forensic audit, construction engineering management, data science analytics, law, software engineering, oil and gas engineering, cybersecurity, global public health and fintech analytics, among other fields.

Otuaro, who has deployed a total of 243 overseas postgraduate scholarships this year, charged the scholars to be deliberate about academic excellence and to conduct themselves responsibly while abroad. He urged them to justify the Tinubu administration’s investment in their education by excelling academically.

He expressed optimism that the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large would benefit from the investment, describing education as a crucial tool for driving sustainable peace, stability and socioeconomic growth in the region and the country.

“The huge benefits of the investment in the Niger Delta youths’ education will be felt in the years to come,” Otuaro said. “Apart from closing the human capital development gap, we are building a community of intellectuals that will be the light of our region in the interest of peace, stability and development of communities in the country.”

He thanked President Bola Tinubu for supporting PAP and its initiatives, commended National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu for his contributions to the programme, and expressed appreciation to PAP stakeholders for their cooperation. Otuaro reiterated his commitment to sustainable peace, stability and development in the Niger Delta.