Interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd) has urged the leaders of the first phase beneficiaries of the programme to look beyond the monthly N65,000 stipends from the federal government, declaring that the new model from the PAP was designed to make ex-agitators employers of labour.
The meeting with leaders of the first phase held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital at the weekend and attended by the speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere who was also a former militant leader, Comrade Paul Eris, popularly known as Ogunboss; a member of Bayelsa House of Assembly, Felix Bonny-Ayah; Pastor Reuben and Joshua Macaiver among others, also agreed that the interim administrator of PAP has rekindled their hope in the programme.
While interacting with the ex-militant leaders as part of PAP’s continuous engagements with all ex-agitators and beneficiaries of the programme, Dikio harped on the need for the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme to think beyond the N65,000 monthly stipend, insisting that his new model of train, employ and mentor programme was designed to make ex-agitators employers of labour.
He said, “We will collaborate with the various levels of government in the region to ensure we get the best out of people in the Niger Delta. We are working to ensure that people in the Niger Delta are also able to attain heights, regardless of their status.”
Dikio insisted that the scheme’s scholarship programme must be based on merit explaining that 70 per cent would be allocated for ex-agitators, 20 per cent for impacted communities and 10 per cent based on PAP’s discretion.
He promised to look into the complaints and concerns of the ex-agitators on the re-organisation of the programme’s offices for effective service delivery. “Niger Delta as a riverine area should be investing heavily on maritime transport and maritime security. Maritime transport should be our domain. We must own it because it is who we are. This Niger Delta will be the best place to live and do business in my lifetime. I know that for sure,” he added.