Niger Delta ex-agitators have reviewed the recent activities and projects of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) saying the priority placed on human capital development by the Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, is repositioning the region.
The ex-agitators under the auspices of the Board of Trustees, Critical Stakeholders Forum of Ex-Agitators observed that under Otuaro, PAP had sponsored 8,205 scholarship students in onshore and offshore academic institutions.
Describing the number of scholarship beneficiaries under Otuaro as unprecedented and mind-blowing, the ex-agitators said the initiative had created a critical mass of employable people in the Niger Delta.
The National Spokesman and Secretary of the group, Nature Dumale Kiegha, said the focus on human capital development was made possible because PAP had undergone foundational and institutional transformation under Otuaro to end the stipend-driven era.
Dumale said the focus on creating a critical mass of employable youths by Otuaro was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and had endeared the people of the region to the present administration.
He said: “Under the leadership of the administrator Dr Dennis Otuaro, the programme now centers its strategic priorities on the promotion of regional stability through interconnected pillars, education, stakeholders engagements, vocational excellence and direct employment part way”, Dumale said.
He said Otuaro had redesigned the programme to ensure that the expanded scholarship beneficiaries were not merely recipient of government support but active contributors to national economic development, security and social cohesion.
“This expansion represents single largest educational deployment in the history of presidential amnesty programme and under scores the administrations commitment to knowledge-driven reintegration”, he said
He said the 8,205 new students injected into the scholarship scheme, represented an increase of over 400 per cent compared to previous deployment circles, which he argued reflected a decisive commitment to mass educational access as a vehicle to sustainable peace and regional development
Dumale said: “The offshore education components has been strategically focused on high demand future-oriented disciplines, including cybersecurity, data science, Artificial intelligence, and engineering delivered through accredited institutions in the United Kingdom.
“This deliberate alignment with global industry trends, ensures that beneficiaries graduate with qualifications that are both internationally recognised and immediately relevant to the demand on the rapid, evolving labour market”.
Dumale observed that he current trend in PAP would definitely resolve the years of employment marginalization of the region in the oil and gas industry especially in critical and managerial positions in the sector.
He said their investigations revealed that Otuaro introduced a merit-based incentive structure, under which additional scholarships were awarded to 32 first-class degree holders.
“This initiative has both a reward mechanism reinforcing the programmes and expectations of high performance and encouraging a competitive result-driven ethos amongst beneficiaries”, he said.
He said Otuaro’s masterstroke had further guaranteed the future of Niger Delta youths, insisting that it would help the youths compete in the labour market in the future.
Dumale said with the distribution of over 3,400 laptops to scholarship students, Otuaro was directly addressing a digital divide that had proportionally affected the communities in the Niger Delta region.
He said the distribution equipped beneficiaries with essential tools for academic research, digital illiteracy and participation in the modern knowledge economy.
Dumale said PAP adopted a training to employment model as a strategic departure from theoretical orientation to integrate the beneficiaries to real world market demands.
“These beneficiaries have been successfully integrated into leading airlines, aviation service providers, including Air Peace, United Nigeria Airline, Bristol Helicopter, Green Africa Airlines and OAS Helicopters. Notable placement include qualified air traffic controllers deployed to Abuja and Benin Airports as well as certified UAV drone specialists”, he said.
Dumale poured encomium on President Tinubu and the National Security Adviser for supporting Otuaro to actualise his vision for PAP saying that the Niger Delta remained eternally grateful to the current administration.
He said: “We are also calling on well-meaning Niger Deltans, stakeholders, traditional rulers, youth leaders to give Dr Dennis Otuaro all the support and encouragement he needs to continue to invest in the future of our youths as education empowerment cannot be over emphasised.
“The trainings and educational qualifications given to our youths today have prepared them to become agents of change. Proper needs assessment has been conducted and these young men are prepared onshore and offshore to fit into the global market and this is one thing that has happened in the region that is actually recommendable.
“As these thousands of young people graduate from impacted communities; they are going to become agents of change. They will be useful and occupy the labour market and fit into multinational companies and become managers and captains of industries.
“So, with all these achievements of this administration, we ask all stakeholders to give Dr Otuaro and the Tinubu government total support. We pass a cote of confidence in them and appeal to them to keep empowering the youths in the Niger Delta”.
