Why We Expanded Presidential Amnesty Scholarship Scheme- Otuaro

By: Michael Mike

The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro has expressed his unwavering commitment to ensuring that more indigent students and communities of the Niger Delta benefit from the PAP scholarship scheme.

He stated this while explaining what informed his decision to expand the scheme and increase formal education opportunities for poor students, and to build a huge manpower base in the region.

Otuaro spoke during an interactive session in London on Saturday with the beneficiaries of the scholarship initiative deployed for undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in universities across the United Kingdom.

The engagement, which was at the instance of the PAP boss, provided an opportunity for the Office and the scholarship students to discuss issues pertaining to their welfare and challenges with a view to addressing them.

Otuaro said that while in-country scholarship deployment was 3800 in the 2024/2025 academic year, the figure increased to 3900 in the 2025/2026 and foreign scholarships were about 200.

He attributed the increase in deployment to the massive support of President Bola Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Otuaro stressed that he was greatly encouraged by the President and the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and that he knows how impressed both of them are concerning the PAP initiatives, which align with the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He reiterated his call on the students to justify the huge investment in their education by the Federal Government by studying hard to make good grades.

He also urged them to conduct themselves and be responsible ambassadors of Nigeria while in the U.K, stressing that “you will be adding value to your families and communities when you complete your programmes successfully.”

The PAP helmsman said, “We want the scholarship programme to impact more students and communities in the Niger Delta. That’s why we have expanded it and increased formal education opportunities.

“We want you to take this opportunity very seriously so that the government, too, will be encouraged. I know how much support His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu GCFR, gives to the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“Mr President and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are very impressed with what we are doing. On your behalf I would like to, once again , thank His Excellency and the NSA for giving you this life-changing opportunity. We are confident that Mr President and the NSA will continue to support us.

“The knowledge you are receiving in your institutions today is to enable you plan yourself and prepare for the future. Whatever knowledge you gain cannot be taken from you.

“So as PAP scholarship students, we expect responsible and good behaviour from you. Government is investing heavily in you and you have the obligation to justify the investment. Be agents of change and avoid acts of mischief while in the U.K.”

Why We Expanded Presidential Amnesty Scholarship Scheme- Otuaro

Rumbles in the Borno health sector as workers continue their grumbling for better packages

By: Bodunrin Kayode

For the second month running some health workers in the Borno State health sector have continued their grumbling over the discriminatory wages dished out to them by the government.

They are frustrated that in spite of their lingering protests, the lopsided salary payment continues among the Borno State Health team believed to be one of the best in the country.

They argued during a recent chat with this reporter that “nurses and junior doctors with lesser certificates and qualifications are being paid and rewarded higher than others just because they belong to trade unions that have perfected the act and practices of trade union melancholy, greediness and selfishness.”

The aggrieved workers who preferred to remain anonymous posited that the Borno health workforce are working at crossroads with suspicion, envy and hatred adding that there is total lack of trust and love among their ranks since such virtues are seemingly lost.

The professionals maintained that Pharmacists, Laboratory Scientists, Radiographers, Physiotherapists and other allied Specialists are obviously frustrated even as they work with deep grudges against the system showing so much apathy to them.

They wonder why nurses and junior doctors with lesser qualifications, experience or skills were better renumerated, given quarters to stay and enjoy other broader privileges while they are treated like trash.

“The leadership of the Health sector made up of three Professors of medicine for reasons best known to them continuously misadvice the highly rated executive Governor of Borno State and have succeeded in reducing the once agile and effective Borno State Health service to it’s lowest ebb.” One of them said.

Speaking further, they regretted that pregnant women despite the free maternal drug program set up for them by the government, they still suffer neglect and abuse by some care givers who are disgruntled.

They added that sadly, in spite of all the efforts of the government, “majority of citizens stay on endless queue waiting for several hours to access basic medical service especially in our secondary healthcare facilities.

“Laboratory orders and medical investigations are conducted by Ill motivated staff with disenchantment.

“Drugs are being prescribed indiscriminately to citizens without drug-drug or drug-food interaction screening and safety checks by certified Pharmacists because of the very few numbers of Graduate Pharmacist Staff in employment.

“His Excellency, the best achieving Governor in the History of Nigeria and also known worldwide should not allow His envious records of sub regional governance job perfection to be dented by bad and self seeking advisers and gluttonous union officials” The concluded.

Borno is suffering from a huge deficit of health workers but recently the Government has been doing all it can to lay the foundation for the correction of this lapse.

Rumbles in the Borno health sector as workers continue their grumbling for better packages

Nigeria Reiterates Support for Two-State Solution, Insists It’s Key to Ending Israeli-Palestinian Perennial Crisis

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria has reiterated its support for two state solution to ending the perennial Israeli- Palestinian crisis, insisting that for peaceful coexistence in the area the two warring states should be given autonomy.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar disclosed this at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations in Abuja.

The Permanent Secretary who was represented by the Director of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Wahab Akande, said: “Nigeria like the rest of the world, stands and says, without doubt, that a two-state solution remains the only path to lasting peace for Israel and Palestine, where both States live in peace and prosperity.

“We attest the opportunities that peace brings, just as the extremist hopes to drive apart rival communities and different religions. We thus work through multilateral platforms within the rule of law, to build the consensus and support that makes this immensely difficult and dangerous task that much easier.

“This is how to deny the enemies the space to stoke tension and cause despair. By our experience that this offers the best, perhaps only hope for peace, reconciliation and victory for the civilised values of a shared humanity.”

On the need for reforms at the UN, Umar said that Nigeria demand for permanent seat at the Security Council is a demand for fairness, for continental equitable representation.

He added that the demand for reform is one that projects credibility to the very institution upon which the hope of multilateralism hinges.

He said: “The United Nations will discover its true relevance only when it sees the world as it is, not as it was. Nigeria’s journey tells this story with clarity: when the UN was founded, we were a colony of 20 million people, absent from the tables where decisions about our fate were taken; today, we are a sovereign nation of well over 200 million, projected to be the third most populous country in the world, with one of the youngest and most dynamic populations on earth by 2025. A stabilising force in regional security and a consistent partner in global peacekeeping, our case for permanent seat at the Security Council is a demand for fairness, for continental equitable representation, and for reform that projects credibility to the very institution upon which the hope of multilateralism rests.”

He said that “Nigeria stands firmly behind the UN80 Initiative of the Secretary-General, and the resolution adopted by this Assembly on 18 July 2025, a bold step to reform the wider United Nations system for greater relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness in the face of unprecedented financial strain. We support the drive to rationalise structures and end the duplication of responsibilities and programmes, so that this institution may speak with one voice and act with greater coherence. None of us can achieve a peaceful world in isolation. This is the heavy burden of sovereignty.”

He also added that “In cognizance of Nigeria’s belief in the value and power of democracy, Nigeria, as a diverse country, we are working with the United Nations to strengthen Democratic institutions in our region and beyond, through the Regional Partnership for Democracy. The increasingly difficult security outlook has prompted many Member States to count the cost of the emerging world order. Nigeria is already familiar with such difficult choices and our view is that the path to sustainable peace lies in economic growth and prosperity. The government has taken the difficult but necessary steps to restructure our economy and remove distortions, including subsidies and currency controls.”

He added that: “Nigeria with other members of the African continent have made significant strides in recent years to put our affairs in order. We can take that progress to the next level, a level that presents new opportunities for trade, investment and profit, if we can access reforms to strengthen the international financial architecture. We need urgent action to promote debt relief – not as an act of charity but as a clear path to the peace and prosperity that benefits us all. The African Continental Free Trade Area is a remarkable achievement of co-operation. We remain fully committed to the achievement of SDGs – and are convinced this can be best delivered by focusing principally on our primary mission of socio-political growth and shared economic prosperity.”

He stressed that Nigeria welcomes steps that will improve peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), stating that: “We agree that international investment and engagement offer a way out of the cycle of decay and violence. Access to strategic minerals, Sierra Leone in the 1990s and Sudan today, has for too long been a source of conflict rather than prosperity. “Africa has in abundance the critical minerals that will drive the technologies of the future. Investment in exploration, development and processing of these minerals, in Africa, will diversify supply to the international market, reduce tensions between major economies and help shape the architecture for peace and economic emancipation, on a continent that too often in the past has been left behind by the rivalries and competition between different blocs.

He advised that: Let’s lstrive for a world where the freedom, dignity and worth of every person are upheld, and no one is left behind. I join you today to reassert that Nigeria’s commitment to peace, to development, to unity, to multilateralism, and to the defence of human rights is beyond compromise, for none of us is safe until all of us are safe. Let’s seize this opportunity to build a better UN, one that will be more inclusive, responsive, and effective in promoting global peace, security and prosperity for all of us and the generation yet to come.”

The Permanent Secretary also warned that the “anniversary of the UN must not be a sentimental retreat into nostalgia. It must be a moment of truth, an opportunity to examine where we have stumbled and how we could have done better in turning our values into action that meet the demands of today.

“The United Nations will discover its true relevance only when it sees the world as it is, not as it was.”

On his part, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall commended the achievements of the body in the last 80 years.

He said: “Eighty years ago, a world broken by war chose peace over pain, dialogue over division, and humanity over hope. That choice gave birth to the United Nations, a home of all nations, a voice for the voiceless, a bridge across difference. And also a promise to future generations that peace is possible when we all work together.”

He urged all member countries to be intentional in building the future together in line with the theme of the 80th celebration “building our future together.”

He said it is more than a slogan, “It is a call to action. Our future will not be built by chance. It will be built by choice.”

He noted that the future is alive in Nigeria, especially with the roles the country has been playing globally.

He said: “Here in Nigeria, that future is alive. The land of promises, courage, creativity, show that unity can be achieved. Since 1960, Nigeria has been a pillar of multilateralism, a steadfast voice for peace, a leader in the African continent, and a partner to the world.”

He added” We need to rise together or we will fall together. So today, I make an appeal to the member states, to the government of Nigeria, to development partners, to young people, and to everyone. Let us believe in the power of the world that defined the chapter with the purpose of the United Nations.

“Those historic words that opened the chapter remind us that the UN belongs to all of us. Let us support the United Nations. Let us make multilateralism work for the many, not only for a few.

“Let’s make sure multilateralism works for peace, that it works for the planet, that it works for people, that it works for prosperity for the generations yet to come. “As we build our shared future, may we remember the UN remains a hope for those who have no hope at all, the bridge between despair and possibility, and as we look to the next 80 years, let us remember the words of the former Secretary-General, Baye Kamashole, the UN was not created to take us to heaven, but to deliver us from hell and of God. May this world remind us why we are here.

“May it remind us that we cannot escape our problems of today, but we can solve them if we work together.”

Nigeria Reiterates Support for Two-State Solution, Insists It’s Key to Ending Israeli-Palestinian Perennial Crisis