Train ex-agitators to become entrepreneurs, PAP boss orders contractors

Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), has mandated contractors hired by the scheme to turn ex-agitators that will be sent to their firms into entrepreneurs in line with the novel Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) model.

Dikio said vendors must ensure that each ex-agitator received enough training that would make him an employer of labour and owner of a functional enterprise at the end of the programme.

The amnesty boss, at a one-day sensitisation workshop organised by PAP in Abuja, yesterday, warned that vendors must stick to their terms of reference. He explained that the model was developed as a paradigm shift to change past failed training methods with the key objectives of transforming ex-agitators into successful business owners or employable citizens that would contribute to the economy of the Niger Delta.

Dikio, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Media, Neotabase Egbe, said that with the wealth in the region and opportunities available in maritime, agriculture, and oil and gas, the region had no excuses for poverty.

He told the firms that he would like to see beneficiaries no longer depending on handouts and monthly stipends at the end of their training. Dikio said:  “There is no excuse for poverty in the Niger Delta; the days of blaming people are over and it is time to get your hands in the soil.

“Over the years, everybody in the Niger Delta has raved about crude oil, but right under our nose is palm oil, which is more expensive than crude oil. So, the bottom line is that there’s no excuse for poverty in the Niger Delta. We must find ways to maximise the opportunities therein.”

Harping on the importance of food security, the amnesty boss said there must be a symbiotic relationship between delegates and farmers. He said in the interest of shared prosperity, vendors should establish partnerships to create more impact and benefit from bigger opportunities.

Firms, which have been awarded contracts by PAP, are Betrieb Limited, Oil & Gas Consultancy Limited, Express Concerns Limited, Giolee Global Resources Limited, Sunup Logistics Limited, Teecentinel Nigeria Limited, Vika Farms, and Kris-Dera Agro Allied Farms Limited.

They are expected to train over 2,500 delegates on metal works, solar, plumbing, and woodwork, psychometric assessment on oil and gas, rice, fish, and poultry farming as well as oil spill control and remediation. Others are marine-related skills, cassava processing, starch production, and livestock farming.