Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Paul Boroh has said 19 ex-militants from the Niger Delta are currently studying for a doctorate degree abroad.

Boroh said this while making a presentation “Between Agitation and Amnesty: Sustainable Reintegration in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria” at the University of Sussex.

What he said:

Boroh who was represented by Benaebi Oguoko, his special adviser said;

• He said 1,723 ex-militants were deployed to study abroad.
• He added that 1,437 already graduated from various schools across the world.
• 259 ex-militants are studying for a bachelor’s degree while eight are at master’s level and 19 conducting Ph.D research, across 69 foreign institutions.
• He waved off arguments that N100bn per year for the programme was too much.

“Some people complain that the amount of money for the programme is like a black hole. But its an investment programme,” he added.

“For example, if you are using the money of four of five days of crude oil production to finance a programme for the whole year, and with that you guarantee government revenues.

“This is an investment programme and the ultimate programme is to make sure that peace is secured in the region.”

Azeez