{"id":4789,"date":"2025-09-08T19:50:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/pap-former-itsekiri-national-youths-president-esimaje-awani-tackles-alleged-deployment-of-5000-itsekiri-students-to-novena-university-under-pap-scholarship-says-students-were-defrauded-by-racketee\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T19:50:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:50:24","slug":"pap-former-itsekiri-national-youths-president-esimaje-awani-tackles-alleged-deployment-of-5000-itsekiri-students-to-novena-university-under-pap-scholarship-says-students-were-defrauded-by-racketee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/pap-former-itsekiri-national-youths-president-esimaje-awani-tackles-alleged-deployment-of-5000-itsekiri-students-to-novena-university-under-pap-scholarship-says-students-were-defrauded-by-racketee\/","title":{"rendered":"PAP: Former Itsekiri National Youths President, Esimaje Awani Tackles Alleged Deployment Of 5,000 Itsekiri Students To Novena University Under PAP Scholarship, Says Students Were Defrauded By Racketeers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By Esther David<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Former President of Itsekiri National Youth Council, Barr. Esimaje Vincent Awani, says the deployment of 5,000 students to Novena University in Ogume, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, was conducted fraudulently, &#8221; deviating from the operational template of the PAP ( Presidential Amnesty Programme) Office.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Barr. Awani, findings revealed that the deployment of 5,000 students to a single university, was unprecedented in the history of PAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst insisting that no deployment schedule was issued to Novena University for contractual purposes, rendering the process illegitimate, the former Itsekiri youth leader in an electronic statement made available to Fresh Angle International Monday evening, September 8, averred that investigation, uncovered racketeers , who sold non &#8211; existent slots to innocent individuals, defrauding them of their resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He claimed that the university, was implicated in the alleged illegal practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awani, asserted: &#8220;Clarification on the Fraudulent Deployment of 5000 Students to Novena University<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The deployment of 5,000 students to Novena University has been investigated by a committee established by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) office. &#8220;The investigation concluded that the deployment was conducted fraudulently, deviating from the operational template of the PAP office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Key Findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The deployment of 5,000 students to a single university is unprecedented in the history of the PAP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No deployment schedule was issued to the university for contractual purposes, rendering the process illegitimate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The investigation uncovered racketeers who sold non-existent slots to innocent individuals, defrauding them of their resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The university is also implicated in this illegal practice, having failed to conduct due diligence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Exoneration of Dr. Dennis Otuaro<br \/>Given the fraudulent nature of the deployment, the PAP office, under the leadership of Dr. Dennis Otuaro, cannot be held responsible. It&#8217;s worth noting that Dr. Otuaro was appointed as the Administrator of PAP in March 2024, and his administration has expressed commitment to transparency and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The present Administrator has done his best in including the Itsekiri nation in his agenda unlike the past Administrators who threw caution to the wind. For example, over 210 itsekiri applicants were considered for the 2025\/2026 academic session with inclusion of some foreign students. This data is within my disposal as the person interfacing with the office on behalf of the Itsekiri nation. We however asked for more if the opportunity avails itself as we have more interested applicants who are ready to be engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Moving Forward<br \/>We appreciate Dr. Otuaro&#8217;s leadership style and open-door policy, which has made this administration more accessible to the people of the Niger Delta Region. His efforts to increase the number of scholarship students and improve the program&#8217;s effectiveness are commendable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Conclusion:<br>We express our sincere appreciation to Dr. Dennis Otuaro for his dedication to transparency and innovation in the PAP. We look forward to collaborating with him to deliver on the program&#8217;s objectives.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Esther David Former President of Itsekiri National Youth Council, Barr. Esimaje Vincent Awani, says&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[1432,1431,1430,1433],"class_list":["post-4789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-000-itsekiri-students-to-novena-university-under-pap-scholarship","tag-esimaje-awani-tackles-alleged-deployment-of-5","tag-pap-former-itsekiri-national-youths-president","tag-says-students-were-defrauded-by-racketeers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_2497-2-1.jpg?fit=881%2C593&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4790,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/09\/pap-we-are-not-owing-novena-or-any-other-institution-tuition-fees-otuaro-reveals-says-theres-no-record-of-5000-itsekiri-students-under-pap-scholarship-scheme\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":0},"title":"PAP: \u201cWe Are Not Owing Novena Or Any Other Institution Tuition Fees\u201d Otuaro Reveals, Says There\u2019s No Record Of 5000 Itsekiri Students Under PAP Scholarship Scheme","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"September 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin The Presidential Amnesty Programme has said that it is not owing school fees of 5000 students of Itsekiri extraction in Novena University, Ogume, Delta State. The PAP in a statement on Tuesday stated that the agency is not owing fees in Novena or any institution within or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Crime&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Crime","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/crime\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4605,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/08\/08\/just-in-ijaw-rights-group-blasts-itsekiris-over-attacks-on-amnesty-boss-dennis-otuaro-says-benefits-enjoyed-by-itsekiris-in-the-amnesty-programme-is-a-privilege-not-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":1},"title":"JUST IN: Ijaw Rights Group Blasts Itsekiris Over Attacks On Amnesty Boss, Dennis Otuaro, Says Benefits Enjoyed By Itsekiris In The Amnesty Programme Is A Privilege Not Right","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"August 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Freeborn Abraye Says no Itsekiri PAP scholarship students abandoned \u2022Insists no true ex-agitator in Itsekiri, slots enjoyed are political A leading Niger Delta group, the Ijaw People's Development Initiative, IPDI has strongly condemned the baseless, mischievous, barbaric, and misleading call to sack the administrator of the presidential Amnesty programme,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1760-1.jpg?fit=960%2C723&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1760-1.jpg?fit=960%2C723&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1760-1.jpg?fit=960%2C723&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1760-1.jpg?fit=960%2C723&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4632,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/08\/13\/just-in-foremost-ijaw-youth-organization-dismisses-allegations-made-against-amnesty-boss-dennis-otuaro-by-itsekiri-youths-council-says-itsekiris-never-took-part-in-niger-delta-struggle\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":2},"title":"JUST IN: Foremost Ijaw Youth Organization Dismisses Allegations Made Against Amnesty Boss, Dennis Otuaro By Itsekiri Youths Council, Says Itsekiris Never Took Part In Niger Delta Struggle","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin The Ijaw Youths Network (IYN) has dismissed allegations by an Itsekiri group accusing the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, of unfair treatment towards Itsekiri ex-agitators. In a statement signed on Tuesday by its National President, Frank Ebikabo, and Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4633,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/08\/13\/just-in-foremost-ijaw-youth-organization-dismisses-allegations-made-against-amnesty-boss-dennis-otuaro-by-itsekiri-youths-council-says-itsekiris-never-took-part-in-niger-delta-struggle-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":3},"title":"JUST IN: Foremost Ijaw Youth Organization Dismisses Allegations Made Against Amnesty Boss, Dennis Otuaro By Itsekiri Youths Council, Says Itsekiris Never Took Part In Niger Delta Struggle","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin The Ijaw Youths Network (IYN) has dismissed allegations by an Itsekiri group accusing the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, of unfair treatment towards Itsekiri ex-agitators. In a statement signed on Tuesday by its National President, Frank Ebikabo, and Secretary, Federal Ebiaridor, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/img_1732-2-1.jpg?fit=1080%2C719&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3308,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2024\/12\/07\/pap-we-are-strengthening-human-capital-base-of-niger-delta-says-otuaro-as-ribadu-urge-1700-pap-scholarship-beneficiaries-to-prioritize-academic-excellence\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":4},"title":"PAP: \u201cWe Are Strengthening Human Capital Base Of Niger Delta\u201d Says Otuaro, As Ribadu Urge 1700 PAP Scholarship Beneficiaries To Prioritize Academic Excellence","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"December 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By Freeborn Abraye The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday, challenged students under the Presidential Amnesty Programme scholarship scheme to be shining examples in their universities of study. He gave the charge in his remarks at the orientation programme for 1, 700 scholarship beneficiaries deployed in various Nigerian institutions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/21f837a2-5b25-4e09-a1c1-6ec4f099f7b9-1.jpg?fit=696%2C463&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/21f837a2-5b25-4e09-a1c1-6ec4f099f7b9-1.jpg?fit=696%2C463&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/21f837a2-5b25-4e09-a1c1-6ec4f099f7b9-1.jpg?fit=696%2C463&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5035,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/11\/15\/just-in-otuaros-led-pap-storms-delta-bayelsa-universities-distributes-laptops-to-amnesty-scholarship-beneficiaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4789,"position":5},"title":"JUST IN: Otuaro\u2019s Led PAP Storms Delta, Bayelsa Universities, Distributes Laptops To Amnesty Scholarship Beneficiaries","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"November 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ebiowei Gabriel As the Education for Empowerment (E4E) Mandate Campaign of the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, continues the distribution of laptops to students under the Presidential Amnesty Programme Scholarship Scheme, the team has successfully covered the following schools in Delta and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_4934.jpg?fit=389%2C246&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfDfBE-1ff","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}