The Ijaw Youth Network (IYN) has commended President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for the unprecedented scholarships of the Presidential Amnesty Programme under Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro.
The IYN, which urged the PAP boss to ignore detractors, advised him to sustain the tempo of the positive impact of the programme on the Niger Delta under his leadership.
The IYN, in a statement signed by Frank Ebikabo, its president, and Federal Ebiaridor, secretary, on Wednesday, said that Dr Otuaro’s expansion of the programme’s scholarship and vocational schemes had increased educational and training opportunities for delegates and beneficiaries from the region’s communities.
The group lauded Otuaro for awarding scholarships to over 9,000 Niger Deltans to study in Nigerian universities and 273 overseas since assuming office in March 2024, describing the large-scale deployments as unprecedented.
Ebikabo and Ebiaridor said the IYN is delighted to note that the programme has recorded over 50 first-class and 40 second-class upper divisions in the past two academic years.
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They also hailed Otuaro for the successful completion of training by four pilot cadets and two instrument rating trainees in South Africa, 40 aviation cadets in Lagos, and 98 maritime cadets in Delta State.
The group stressed that the training of 360 delegates of the First, Second and Third Phases of the programme, and other stakeholders on alternative dispute resolution and mediation had strengthened the PAP’s peace-building process in the region.
Ebikabo and Ebiaridor said that Dr Otuaro has gone too far in realising the President’s vision for the Niger Delta to be distracted.
“These remarkable achievements highlight Dennis Otuaro’s sincere commitment and passion for human capital development, socio-economic advancement, and peace and stability in the communities of the Niger Delta.
“The region is experiencing positive development. The people and communities are feeling the positive impact of the Presidential Amnesty Programme under the Administrator’s leadership, despite all the distractions thrown in his direction by those who do not mean well for the region”, the group said.
The IYN further stated that under Otuaro the payment of delegates’ monthly stipends had been largely prompt, transparent and smooth, stressing that “it has never been this good for delegates because he also played an active role in the struggle.”
“We are happy with the huge impact he is making, and we urge him to stay focused on the implementation of the programme’s mandate. The future of the Niger Delta is getting brighter,” they stated.
Ebikabo and Ebiaridor expressed appreciation to President Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser for their unequalled support for the PAP Administrator and the programme.
They emphasised that without the strong support of the President and the NSA, Otuaro’s reforms, which repositioned the programme for better service delivery and positive impact on the region, would not have been possible.