Two beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) have emerged among the outstanding graduates of British universities, winning academic prizes and cash awards for exceptional performances in their respective fields of study.
The beneficiaries Joy Jonny and Prince-Timothy Wokoma received the honours at the University of Aberdeen and another British university, respectively, in recognition of their academic excellence.
Jonny won the George and Lilian Adam Smith Prize at the University of Aberdeen, alongside a £500 cash award for obtaining the highest dissertation mark.
In a letter dated October 28, 2026, the Head of the School of Social Sciences, Prof. Joanne McEvoy congratulated her, describing the award as recognition of her outstanding dissertation performance.
The letter stated: “I am delighted to be able to confirm that your achievement is to be recognised through the award of the George and Lilian Adam Smith Prize. The prize of £500 is awarded to the student with the highest dissertation mark.”
Similarly, Wokoma graduated as the best overall student in the Agriculture and Environmental Science programme, earning a £100 cash award from his university.
In its congratulatory letter, the institution said the award was reserved for students whose academic performance met the required standard of excellence.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the award, which recognises your hard work and commitment to your studies. The award is only made if there is a performance of sufficient merit, so you have done an excellent job. Well done!” the letter stated.
The achievements have renewed attention on the educational component of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and its contribution to developing skilled manpower from the Niger Delta.
Reacting, the Media Director of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG), Bayelsa State chapter, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, said the awards demonstrated the benefits of sustained investment in education and human capital development in the region.
Eradiri, a former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, disclosed that the programme had sponsored more than 9,000 Niger Delta beneficiaries for scholarships within and outside Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu.
He also claimed that the programme had produced more than 111 master’s and doctoral degree holders, alongside numerous first-class and second-class honours graduates under the administration.
He credited the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Brutu Otuaro, with repositioning the programme’s educational intervention towards addressing the human capital development needs of the Niger Delta.
According to Eradiri, the administration’s commitment to funding the programme had also helped address operational challenges and protests that previously characterised its activities.
He said: “We commend Otuaro for reforming PAP and redirecting the programme’s focus on closing the human capital needs of the Niger Delta. PAP under Tinubu has produced a critical mass of employable Niger Delta indigenes.
“Tinubu inherited PAP at a time there was a debate to scrap the programme because of its past failures. But the President, following the love he has for the Niger Delta, chose to sustain and reform it to deliver development and prosperity to the region.”
Eradiri further argued that the achievements recorded by scholarship beneficiaries justified the continuation of the programme and demonstrated the importance of investing in education as a pathway to sustainable development.
He, however, turned the development into a political argument for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, urging Niger Delta stakeholders to support the President for a second term.
“The examples of Joy and Wokoma are evidence that President Tinubu’s massive investments in the Niger Delta education through the PAP is yielding expected benefits.
“He has been tested and trusted in the Niger Delta. He has a template for the sustainable development of our region. This is no time to experiment other candidates, who are making bogus and unrealistic claims. It is time for all stakeholders to mobilise massively for Tinubu’s re-election to enable him consolidate on the gains in the Niger Delta,” he said.
