The Presidential Amnesty Programme has begun distributing laptops to final-year and postgraduate scholarship students in its partnering universities across Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Administrator PAP, Igoniko Oduma, on Tuesday.
The first phase of the distribution saw 64 scholarship beneficiaries receive their laptops at Nile University and Baze University.
This group includes 60 final-year students, one doctoral student, and three master’s degree candidates.
The distribution took place on Friday and Monday, with 25 students from Nile University and 39 from Baze University receiving the devices.
According to the statement, the PAP Administrator, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, who had previously promised this gesture during his 2024 tour of partnering institutions, highlighted the importance of the laptops for students’ academic success.
“The office recognises the usefulness of the mobile computing device, especially for students preparing to write their final year projects, theses, and dissertations,” Otuaro said.
At the presentation events, Otuaro was represented by the Acting Head of Administration, Ebikpolade Zorab, and Secretary to the PAP Administrator, Ebimene Jackson.
They urged students to make the most of the laptops, emphasizing that they were the first group to receive such devices.
Otuaro encouraged them to use the laptops to improve their academic performance, saying, “I advise and encourage you to make good use of it for your academic progress.
“With these laptops, if you were to make a low grade in your project, we expect that you will score excellent grades because you now have portable computers to enhance your academic endeavours..”
Otuaro also reiterated his commitment to closing the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta and ensuring peace, security, and stability in the region.
He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his ongoing support of the PAP’s educational and vocational initiatives under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Head of Education at PAP, Dr. Charles Ariye, noted that this was the first time in six years that scholarship beneficiaries received laptops. He stressed the importance of digital literacy in the modern academic environment.
“We are in a digital age. You are doing a lot with your phones, and with your laptop, you can do more,” Ariye said, adding that the initiative aligned with PAP’s mandate to provide quality university education.
The registrars of both Nile University and Baze University, David Olowola and Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, respectively, commended the PAP for providing the laptops and expressed their institutions’ desire to continue collaborating with the programme.
They emphasised the importance of developing skilled manpower for national development.
Scholarship beneficiaries, including student leaders Eperetun Gboroteiye (Nile) and Pedro Timotubo (Baze), along with others such as Oyinlayefa Ogiriki, Mina Ikiba, Friday Dunu, and Martha Tuwabere, expressed their gratitude for the new devices, noting that the laptops would significantly assist them in their academic pursuits.
The laptop distribution is part of the PAP’s ongoing efforts to enhance the educational experience of its scholarship recipients, equipping them with tools to succeed in their studies.
![UK Supreme Court Declares Transgender Women Not Legally 'Woman' Under Equality Act The United Kingdom Supreme Court has declared that transgender women, even those with Gender Recognition Certificates, do not fall under the legal definition of "woman" as set out in the landmark Equality Act 2010. The judgment, delivered by five justices on Wednesday could upend years of hard-fought progress by the trans rights movement and is already fuelling calls for a redraft of the Equality Act. The case, a flashpoint in an increasingly polarised gender rights war, was triggered by a challenge from gender-critical campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS). Backed in part by author J.K. Rowling and the advocacy group Sex Matters, FWS argued that the term "woman" in the Equality Act must be understood biologically, and not through self-identification or legal paperwork. The Scottish government, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with trans rights advocates, defended its stance. Its lawyers leaned heavily on the Gender Recognition Act 2004, which states that individuals issued a GRC have legally changed their sex “for all purposes.” That, they argued, should include legal protections reserved for women. The Supreme Court’s central concern in its ruling was that treating trans women as women would create insurmountable “practical problems”. “The meaning of the terms ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the [Equality Act] 2010 refer to biological sex, as any other interpretation would render the EA 2010 incoherent and impracticable to operate,” the court ruled. The judges noted that protections for pregnant women would collapse unless “man” and “woman” had a biological meaning. They also found that considering trans women with gender recognition certificates as having a female “certificated sex” created further issues. Lord Hodge said that “interpreting sex as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the [Equality Act 2010] – and thus the protected characteristic of sex – in an incoherent way.” In its reasons, the Supreme Court found that the notion of “certificated sex” would also “weaken the protections given to those with the protected characteristic of sexual orientation,” for example by “interfering with their ability to have lesbian-only spaces and associations”. The justices also found that blurring the boundary of sex would also create “confusion and impracticability” around the provision of “single sex characteristic associations and charities, women’s fair participation in sport, the operation of the public sector equality duty, and the armed forces”. Reacting, the UK Government hailed the “clarity” provided by the Supreme Court’s ruling. “We have always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex,” a spokesman said. “This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs. “Single sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government.”](https://newsbulletin.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1744804310668-300x169.jpg)
