…Urhobo Youth Council Sets the Record Straight, Backs PAP’s Position
THE Urhobo Youth Council (UYC) has thrown its weight behind the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) over the clarification that the alleged 5000 Itsekiri graduates of Novena University, Ogume, Delta State, were never beneficiaries of the PAP scholarship scheme.
Speaking in Abuja, the urbobo youth council leader,UYC, Chief Peter Aghogho, also ex militant leader in the amnesty office affirmed that the PAP’s statement was the true and accurate account of events, stressing that the agency was not indebted to Novena University or any other institution.
Chief Aghogho categorically dismissed the claim by the so-called Sole Representative of His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III, CFR, the Olu of Warri to that PAP owed tuition and clearance fees for the alleged graduates.
According to him, the Itsekiri National Youth Council (INYC), working in connivance with certain officials in Novena University’s Dean of student Affairs department headed by Prof. Okoro and one Commander Biggy, facilitated irregular admissions for their kinsmen without the knowledge, consent, or approval of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
He revealed that he personally witnessed the development as a final-year student of Novena University at the time. “I was present on the very day those students staged a protest,” Chief Aghogho recalled. “I addressed them directly and made it clear that their admissions did not follow due process. Therefore, they could not be recognized as legitimate PAP beneficiaries.”
Chief Aghogho further noted that the issue was not peculiar to the Itsekiris alone. “During the protest, while I addressed the students, I was interviewed and recorded by Gbaramatu Voice TV. Let it be known that not only Itsekiri students were affected – there were also Urhobos and Ijaws. About three Urhobos fell into this category, and some of them even paid money to one Biggy, who is an Ijaw.”and the itsekiri national youth president and Prof. Okoro
The UYC leader maintained that the PAP under successive administrations had always been transparent on the matter, pointing to the investigative report which absolved the agency of any responsibility.
“What the PAP has said regarding the so-called 5000 students is the absolute truth. The students should hold accountable their leaders and those who connived with the institution’s to deceive them, rather than attempt to drag the Amnesty Programme into an arrangement it never authorized,” Chief Aghogho said.
The Urhobo Youth Council, therefore, urged the public to disregard the false claims and commended Dr. Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator of PAP, for his reforms and expansion of the scholarship scheme to provide greater access to education for genuine beneficiaries of the programme in the niger Delta.
