Photo Credit: The Sun Nigeria / Presidential Amnesty Programme
Four PAP Foreign Scholarship Students Graduate With Distinction in UK
YENAGOA — Four beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) offshore scholarship scheme have graduated with Distinction in their Master’s degree programmes from universities in the United Kingdom.
The outstanding scholars are Nina Orubebe (Financial Management), Tonbra Tonlagha (International Hospitality and Tourism), Kemien Egbekun (Law) and Simon Douye (Construction Engineering Management).
They were part of 16 offshore postgraduate students sponsored by the PAP who successfully completed their Master’s degrees in various disciplines including Software Engineering, Oil & Gas, Data Science & Engineering, Financial Management, Law, Construction Engineering Management, and Global Public Health, among others.
The graduates have already participated in the convocation ceremonies of their respective institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, which include Carnegie Mellon University, Coventry University, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Dundee, Anglia Ruskin University, University of Bedfordshire, Aston University, University of Cambridge, University of South Wales and Northumbria University.
The Administrator of the PAP, Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, disclosed that the Programme has produced 111 Master’s and Doctoral degree holders — 57 from foreign universities and 54 from Nigerian institutions — since he assumed office in March 2024.
Reacting to the development, Dr. Otuaro commended the scholars for their dedication and for completing their programmes within schedule, noting that they have added to the human resource base the PAP is building for the Niger Delta.
He expressed delight that PAP scholarship beneficiaries deployed both within and outside Nigeria have continued to justify the Federal Government’s investment in their education.
He reiterated that the large-scale deployment of scholarships under his leadership aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at bridging the human capital development gap in the region.
Dr. Otuaro said he remains undeterred by smear campaigns from detractors unhappy with the expansion of the scholarship scheme, stressing that the expansion was made possible by President Tinubu’s approval of an upward review of the agency’s budget with a mandate to increase educational opportunities.
“Our decision to expand the scholarship scheme is anchored on the massive support and strong desire of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to bridge the region’s human capital development gap under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Otuaro said.
“This new set of 16 successful overseas post-graduate students sponsored by the PAP has reinforced the Federal Government’s investment in the Niger Delta youths’ education to enhance sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement in the region.”
He thanked President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for laying a solid foundation for peace, stability and shared prosperity in the Niger Delta.
Source: The Sun Nigeria –