PAP worries over ex-agitators poor performance in scholarship exam

The leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme has expressed concern over the poor academic performance of some former agitators who are recipients of the scheme’s tertiary education scholarships in their recent examinations.

The programme was established in 2009 by the late Umaru Yar’Adua and aimed at encouraging  Niger Delta militants to drop their arms.

A statement on Tuesday by the the Administrator’s Special Assistant on Media,  Freston Akpor stated that the Head of Reintegration in the Amnesty Office, Wilfred Musa during a meeting with stakeholders and PAP delegates, vowed that it would no longer be business as usual for beneficiaries, as the standards would be raised.

According to the statement,  Musa noted that the programme cannot continue to waste its scarce resources on beneficiaries unwilling to meet the leadership’s expectations.

The statement partly read, “The PAP leadership expressed worry over the poor performance of delegates under its Scholarship Scheme across various higher institutions of learning, stating that rather than engaging in serious reading culture, they are engaged in frivolous petitions against the PAP leadership.

“The interim administrator frowned at the shoddy performance of some delegates in their recent examinations, where some of them were dropped.

To raise the standards, he said PAP has resolved to prioritise admission for delegates into any university of their choice, but it will no longer be business as usual.

“The PAP cannot be involved in wasteful ventures with poor standards. We will only support those who are willing to be trained within the Amnesty Programme”.

He urged the stakeholders to shun divisive tendencies capable of causing disunity in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking, the National President of the PAP Third Phase Leaders, Elaye Slaboh expressed happiness with the current PAP administration.