Former IYC President Eradiri Urges Strategic Education Focus, Commends Dr Otuaro At Ijaw Media Conference

By Osaro Michael, Benin

The former Ijaw Youth Council president and Society of Petroleum Engineers member, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has commended High Chief (Dr.) Dennis Otuaro, Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), for prioritizing education and expanding scholarship opportunities.

Speaking at the 2nd Ijaw Media Conference organized by the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum, IPF, in Warri, Delta State, on December 17, 2025, Eradiri emphasised the need for strategic educational programmes that create jobs.

“We must give credit to all those who have led this programme to Otuaro. Otuaro, our own, is doing fantastic. Look at the number of people he has sent to schools, the local schools, over 3,000. He is focused on education and so we need to give him credit for it,” Eradiri said.

However, he added, ” I think that we need to be more strategic about the kind of educational programmes that we get involved in so that we don’t waste the opportunity and money we have.”

Eradiri cited examples of successful Niger Delta beneficiaries who trained in specialized fields like aviation and aircraft repair through the amnesty programme, saying:

“When we say strategic, if you go to the private jet sector in Nigeria, about 50% of pilots are Niger Delta boys who came out of the amnesty programme… The point I’m making is that we must start to train people in areas where, immediately they come out, there is job creation.”

He stressed, “We have graduated a lot of Ph.Ds and Masters without jobs. If you train one person in Aberdeen for pipe repairs, you’ll be shocked at the number of graduates you may employ… Not when you send somebody to London to do Ph.D in philosophy. What is he going to do with it? The world has moved!”.