On his recent trip to the United Kingdom, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, High Chief Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has urged students under PAP’s foreign scholarship scheme to justify the Federal Government’s investment in their education by focusing on their studies.

According to his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Igoniko Oduma, Dr. Otuaro gave the advise during his meeting with the PAP scholarship students currently studying in the United Kingdom on Sunday, August 19, 2024.

The Administrator, who said that much was expected from the students in their academic performance to justify the Federal Government's investment in their education, noted that the PAP scholarship scheme had in the past produced first-class and second-class upper divisions in competitive disciplines, including the sciences and clinical sciences, as such they should continue the trend of academic excellence.

"As PAP scholarship students abroad, it is very important that you study hard and aim to make the best grades in your academics," Dr. Otuaro said during his meeting with the students. 

“That is what you have been sent here to do, and that is what you are here to do and nothing else. Nigeria deserves nothing less than good conduct and sterling academic performances from you," he added.

Speaking further the Administrator revealed that many PAP graduates are doing very well in their post-graduation endeavours and contributing significantly to national growth and development.

He therefore urged the students to be good ambassadors of the PAP, their respective communities, the Niger Delta and the Federal Government, by shunning negative acts that would bring a bad reputation to the country as a whole.

On the Federal Government's resolve to boost the programme, the PAP Boss said it was in tandem with the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the peace, security, stability, and socio-economic development of the Niger Delta, as encapsulated in his Renewed Hope Agenda.

He stated that Tinubu was delighted by the success stories and the sterling academic performances of the programme's scholarship students, both at home and abroad, revealing that the president, who is encouraged by the excellent academic feats, had expressed a strong commitment to support the Office in order to deepen initiatives in educational and vocational training for youths in the region.

"Let me take this opportunity to inform you that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very happy with the fact that PAP scholarship students are making first-class and second-class upper divisions in various courses of study, particularly in the sciences, engineering, and clinical sciences.

"Therefore, the Niger Delta is properly captured in Mr President's Renewed Hope Agenda, which is why he is very supportive of the Office in terms of the educational and vocational programmes we carry out to deepen the reintegration phase of the programme for the benefit of our people.

“We are immensely grateful to Mr President, and that is why I urge you all to take your studies seriously and don't disappoint the Federal Government, the PAP Office, and the Niger Delta region where you come from,” Dr. Otuaro urged them.

The PAP Boss further stated that his administration was putting measures in place to make the scholarship scheme more robust to bridge the human capacity gap in the Niger Delta and that he would continually prioritize the scholarship and welfare of students studying in Nigerian and foreign universities under the ongoing reintegration phase of the programme.

In their response, the students expressed gratitude to the PAP boss for personally visiting them, in what they described as a demonstration that the government is interested in their education and welfare, while they promised to be good ambassadors and to do their best to justify the investment in their education.

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