Otuaro links Niger Delta scholarships to Tinubu’s 2027 support

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dennis Otuaro, has urged people of the Niger Delta to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election, citing the administration’s investments in the region.

Otuaro made the call on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the pre-departure orientation for 150 Niger Delta youths awarded postgraduate scholarships to universities in the United Kingdom.

He described the scholarship scheme as an investment in the future of the Niger Delta, saying it would help address the region’s human capital deficit and consolidate peace and stability.

“We should make sure we vote massively to ensure his victory in the 2027 general elections. This is the best way to show gratitude to a President who has taken these deliberate steps to help our people and the region,” Otuaro said.

The latest deployment brings the number of Niger Delta beneficiaries sent for offshore postgraduate studies by the PAP in 2026 to 243. According to Otuaro, 93 beneficiaries were deployed in January and May, while another 150 were dispatched in August.

He said about 270 other beneficiaries had already been studying in universities across the UK before the latest deployment, pursuing programmes including cybersecurity, software engineering, data science, law, forensic auditing, fintech analytics, construction engineering management, public health and oil and gas engineering.

Otuaro said the latest beneficiaries included about 56 first-class graduates and 140 students who graduated with second-class upper degrees.

He attributed the expansion of the scholarship programme to what he described as Tinubu’s support for the Presidential Amnesty Programme under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“As of today, we have 8,700 in-country. That is what President Tinubu has done for the Niger Delta. By the grace of God, we are going to increase the number this year,” he said.

The PAP administrator said 270 beneficiaries had so far been deployed to offshore universities, comprising 11 undergraduate students, 238 master’s students and 21 PhD candidates.

He added that 57 beneficiaries had graduated, many with distinctions, while 248 remained in training. Onshore universities, he said, had also produced 54 master’s and doctoral graduates.

Otuaro urged the new beneficiaries to take their studies seriously and return to contribute to the development of their communities and Nigeria.

He also advised them to obey the laws of their host countries and the rules of their respective universities, while acting as good ambassadors of Nigeria and the Niger Delta.

Two beneficiaries, Opukeme Gideon, who will study for an MSc in Cyber Security at the University of Aberdeen, and Afiyagba Peredisabofa, who will study Oil and Gas at Coventry University, thanked Tinubu and Otuaro for the opportunity and pledged to justify the investment.

Several Niger Delta stakeholders, including the Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Boladei Igali, Niger Delta University professor Ben Binebai, activist AnnKio Briggs, Delta State Governor’s Senior Policy Adviser Funkekeme Solomon and Ijaw Youth Council President Doubra Okotete, commended the scholarship programme.

They described the scheme as a long-term investment in the region’s youths and praised the PAP for expanding access to postgraduate education.

The stakeholders also commended the programme’s selection process, particularly what they described as its attention to gender balance.

Otuaro also expressed appreciation to Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, for their support and oversight of the programme.