Four beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) on scholarship at the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, have graduated with First Class Honours degrees.
Mr Murphy Ganagana, Special Assistant on Media to Prof. Charles Dokubo, the Coordinator of PAP, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ganagana said that at the 7th convocation ceremonies and 10th anniversary of the institution, 19 other beneficiaries of the programme were also awarded Second Class Honours degrees in various disciplines.
According to him, a total of 58 students sponsored by the presidential amnesty programme graduated from the institution.
“Three of the First Class degree awardees who scored a minimum CGPA of 4.54 made history in the College of Engineering.
“They include Porbeni Emmanuel Dakore, Electrical/Electronics Engineering; Tele Blessing, Mechanical Engineering; Roland Ayebakuro Ebriyo, Electrical/Electronics Engineering and Agu Chidera Confidence, Medical Laboratory Science.”
He quoted Dokubo as describing the feat as a huge success for the programme and the Niger Delta.
Dokubo attributed the landmark achievement to the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari towards deepening peace as a vehicle for the development of the region.
“I am elated that four of our delegates made us proud with First Class degrees; 19 others also finished brilliantly.
“It shows the gains of the amnesty programme under my watch and I assure you that this is just the beginning of good tidings to come in the days ahead.’’
He, however, appreciated President Buhari for his wonderful support that had taken amnesty programme to a higher level.
A former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in a goodwill message, noted that education was the major agency for personal and national socio-economic development.
He added that investments in human capital development played a critical role in long-term productivity growth at both micro and macro levels.