Presidential aide lauds amnesty as panacea for peace

Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Gen. Paul Boroh, has hailed amnesty as the most profitable conflict resolution agenda, which has the capacity to assuage the feelings of inhabitants of the region.

Boroh, who made the disclosure in Enugu yesterday, said
“The Niger Delta is peaceful now and requires our collective efforts to sustain, being the economic lifeline of the nation.”

The coordinator, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger-Delta acknowledged that the amnesty programme was critical to peace, noting that it has the mechanism for conflict resolution and no amount of money can buy peace.”

According to him, “the amnesty programme is a great success. It is a reason why arms-bearing youths are willing to disarm. Throughout the Niger-Delta, there are youths willing to lay down their arms and the exercise will commence soon.”

Boroh was on a tour of Enugu and Nnewi in Anambra State, to commission the skills-acquisition and training in automobile technology and manufacturing of plastics, under the sustainable reintegration programme, for beneficiaries of the presidential amnesty, in partnership with Innoson Group.

While commissioning the Innoson Kiara Academy, where 200 ex-agitators are receiving training in plastic technology, and automobile training, the presidential aide hailed the opportunity, which if well utilised will help in setting up the beneficiaries for life.

He called on them to be law abiding, assuring that the amnesty programme “has been able to substantially meet its mandate and has been able, through its formal and vocational programmed trained approximately 17,000 beneficiaries in various skills, as well as empowering more than 3,583 beneficiaries.”

He disclosed that by the end of this quarter, 1,040 students would conclude their courses and set up as business owners.