By Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt,The Nation
Copyright thenationonlineng
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, has warned postgraduate foreign scholarship beneficiaries of the programme against abusing the opportunity.
He gave the admonition at the orientation programme for the third batch of the foreign scholarship beneficiaries, who make up over 140 students deployed for post-graduate studies in universities in the United Kingdom.
Like the previous two batches, the third batch beneficiaries also received brand new laptops from the PAP office to help them in their studies and research in their various institutions in the U.K.
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Otuaro, in a statement signed by his special assistant, media, Igoniko Oduma, expressed deep appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for supporting the initiatives of the PAP towards bringing the amnesty programme close to the people of the Niger Delta.
He warned the beneficiaries that their deployment was not a window to “japa”, saying they should return to Nigeria after completing their programmes and add value to the development of the region and the country.
He noted that the large-scale deployment, which started with the first batch in January 2025, followed by the second batch on September 11, 2025, was part of a deliberate effort to close the human capital development gap in the region.
He stressed that the area was in dire need of relevant manpower in critical disciplines and human endeavours.
Otuaro urged them to conduct themselves responsibly and obey the laws of their host country, as well as the rules and regulations of their various universities, while studying hard to justify their sponsorships.
The PAP boss said, “I don’t want any of you to abuse this post-graduate scholarship opportunity that is given to you. I am saying this because previous abuses have made our chances to become so slim in some European countries, but the U.K. Government has been very considerate.
“I want to admonish you as beneficiaries to go, complete your studies, and come back and add value to our region and the country. That is why we are giving you this opportunity. This is not an opportunity to go to japa.
“We give honour and appreciation, first, to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCRF, for the huge support he has given to the Presidential Amnesty Programme, and also the Office of the National Security Adviser. I appreciate them immensely for supporting us in the direction we are going.
“All we are doing is a deliberate effort to close the human capacity development gap in the region so that, at every point in time, we have people qualified for any field of endeavour. Some of us didn’t have the opportunity to benefit from a scholarship award, but today you are the beneficiaries. Tomorrow it will be the turn of others.
“So this post-graduate scholarship is an opportunity for you to go and study, finish, and come back home. The deployment is based on the skill demand of the Niger Delta. Don’t overstay. At the end of your programme, return home, and if you have anything else you want to do, reapply (for a visa) to go back there. Don’t use this opportunity to crash into other programmes that will give you problems.”
He urged them to make good use of the sponsorship and also make their families, communities, the region, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the President proud.