Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro has assured the management of the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU), Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, of the programme’s readiness for collaboration to remedy the shortage of medical professionals in the Niger Delta.
A statement issued by his special assistant on media, Igoniko Oduma, quoted the PAP administrator as having noted that the Niger Delta was faced with two major challenges namely, limited infrastructure and human capital development.
He observed that there was a gap in medical personnel in the region, stressing that one of the major objectives of the programme is human capital development in the region.
Otuaro, who gave the assurance when he led PAP management team on a visit to the BMU, stated that the Amnesty Programme Office and the BMU could strengthen their partnership to train more students in critical areas in the health sector.
He and his team had earlier visited Igbenedion University and Benson Idahosa University in Edo State; the Western Delta University, Oghara; the Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo; and the Michael and Cecelia Ibru University, Ughelli, all in Delta, as a part of his tour of tertiary educational institutions partnering with the PAP.
During the visits, Otuaro interacted with the PAP scholarship students and the management of the institutions with a view to getting first-hand information towards improving service delivery.
The Amnesty Programme, which was established in 2009 to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate ex-agitators into the mainstream of society and expand educational opportunities for indigenes of impacted communities, is currently in the reintegration phase.
He applauded the BMU for being a success story of the PAP scholarship scheme, and playing the role for which it was established by the Bayelsa State Government.
