Amnesty retools 3097 ex-militants, others with entrepreneurship

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has empowered 2,187 in small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) .The beneficiaries are spread across Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Edo, Cross River, Abia and Imo states.

Over 110 vendors and contractors were also engaged in execution of business contracts and trades, including wood and carpentry, fish farming, commodity shop, building materials, building and construction, fashion designing, hair dressing, catering, timber mill, event management as well as restaurant and bar.

Others are rental service, bead and knitting, creative art work, foodstuff sale, provision store, electronic and electrical materials sale, music production, poultry, mini distributorship, block-moulding, baking and confectionery, tiling and interlocking.

The list also comprises ICT and cybercafe, welding and fabrication, film making, cinematography, cassava milling, barbing salon, kerosene sale, auto spare parts, supermarket, auto mechanic, agricultural farming and marine transportation.

Besides, 800 delegates are currently receiving a six-month vocational training in various skills facilitated by qualified contractors.

The specialties are welding, aluminum fabrication, oil and gas power system, abrasive blasting, scaffolding and rigging, mechanical fitting, industrial painting, greenhouse farming, fashion designing and tailoring, leather works, ICT, poultry farming, fish farming, installation and maintenance of tricycles as well as ice engineering and fabrication.

A statement on Monday in Abuja by the progamme’s Special Assistant, Media, Murphy Ganagana, quoted the coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo, as saying that plans had reached an advanced stage to fast-track the training and certification of more beneficiaries and explore job opportunities for them.

According to Dokubo, “Niger Delta is now known for peaceful development because there is no development without security. The Amnesty Programme is now into more of training so that our beneficiaries can develop a skill after being trained, and then work. We are now focusing on getting jobs for some of those we have trained. That is the last aspect of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.”