March 29, 2024

FG to train 450 Niger Delta ex-militants in oil spill response, clean-up

Oredola Adeola

The Federal Government has revealed that a total of 450 ex-agitators are expected to be trained in oil spill response, clean-up and remediation.

This was revealed in a statement issued by Mr. Neotabase Egbe, Special Adviser to Retired Col. Milland Dikio, Interim Administrator, of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in the Niger Delta.

Retired Col. Milland Dikio, PAP’s Interim Administrator,  in a statement issued in Yenagoa on Sunday said that the training for additional 450 ex-agitators was in line with PAP’s Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) template.

He said some of them would train in solar engineering, plumbing, electrical installations, marine, metal and wood works.
According to him, PAP had earlier sent 400 ex-agitators to various farms in the Niger Delta to learn agricultural skills, bringing the number of beneficiaries in recent times to 850.

Addressing the ex-agitators after a second batch of basic orientation course organised for them in Port Harcourt, Dikio stressed the importance of wealth creation and employment generation in the region.

He urged the beneficiaries to take their training seriously so as to become employable and also become employers.

Dikio maintained that the era of crying over lack of opportunities was over and appealed to them to take advantage of the training to secure their future.

He said that PAP was in a hurry to make new millionaires and billionaires in the Niger Delta.

Pastor Nature Dumale Kieghe , an ex-agitator, in a statement sharing his experience with the beneficiaries claimed that he became successful after  abandoning militancy

He said, “I was rejected by even my own family members because of my lifestyle. I was a lost child.

“No one could ever believe that I could be saved, but here I am today with so much to show for turning around from my evil ways.

“I have travelled round the world, speaking to people about the dangers of engaging in destructive acts. You too can be like me if not better,’’ he said.