Ex-agitators under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Phase Two have commended the Administrator of the programme, Chief Dennis Burutu Otuaro, for what they described as increased attention to education and human capital development.
The National Chairman of PAP Phase Two, Ibena Rufus Salvation, gave the commendation while expressing support for the administrator’s reforms, particularly the recent deployment of foreign scholarship opportunities for beneficiaries to study in the United Kingdom.
Salvation said the focus on education was important to the long-term success of the Amnesty Programme, noting that investment in human capital could provide beneficiaries with skills and qualifications needed to contribute meaningfully to the development of the Niger Delta and the country.
He said he shared Otuaro’s vision for using education as a major tool for empowering young people in the region and urged the administrator to sustain the reforms in the education sector.
“I am proud of the Administrator for his extraordinary efforts, particularly with his vision for education. I am sure before the end of Otuaro’s tenure, the Ijaw nation will proudly produce over 10,000 Ijaw sons and daughters, both undergraduates and postgraduates, within three years only in office,” Salvation said.
He described the projected number of beneficiaries as significant, saying that sustained investment in education could have a lasting impact beyond the immediate objectives of the Amnesty Programme.
According to him, education remains one of the most effective forms of empowerment because it equips young people with knowledge and professional skills that can improve their prospects and enable them to contribute to their communities.
Salvation therefore called on genuine beneficiaries of PAP to support initiatives that promote education, training and other forms of human capital development under the programme.
He said the recent foreign scholarship deployment demonstrated that the Amnesty Programme could be used not only to address the immediate welfare concerns of former agitators but also to build a new generation of educated and skilled Niger Delta youths.
The Phase Two chairman also urged beneficiaries to remain committed to programmes designed to improve their capacity, stressing that the benefits of education could extend to families, communities and the wider Niger Delta region.
“Education is the highest empowerment any good visionary leader can bring to his people,” he said.
Salvation further expressed confidence in Otuaro’s ability to continue with his reform agenda, assuring the administrator of his support as the programme pursues its education and human capital development initiatives.
The commendation comes amid continuing attention on the role of PAP in the reintegration and empowerment of former agitators, particularly through education, skills acquisition and other interventions aimed at sustaining peace in the Niger Delta.
The foreign scholarship initiative is also significant against the background of growing demands for the Amnesty Programme to produce sustainable outcomes for beneficiaries rather than relying solely on short-term interventions.
Salvation said beneficiaries should recognise the long-term value of such opportunities and make effective use of them to acquire qualifications and skills that would enable them to contribute to the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta.
