MaritimeVarsity Take-off Excites N’Delta Ex-Militants

Former agitators seek jobs for local populace

Emmanuel Addeh A coalition of former Niger Delta warlords yesterday expressed delight over the formal take-off of the much awaited Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State, describing the development as laudable.

Leaders of the ex-agitators from all three phases under the Presidential Amnesty programme who hailed President Muhammadu Buhari, for finally allowing the commencement of academic activities in the school, said it was a good pointer to what the region could gain under the current dispensation.

In a statement signed by the Bayelsa State Chairman of the group, Bull Afiemi, the former warlords said it also marked the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship between the federal government and the people of the region.

According to the ex-militants who also commended the approval of N65 billion budgetary allocation to the Amnesty office, the federal government had started showing concern over the plight of the people of the region.

They said after their meeting with the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh, to strategise on the way forward for the beneficiaries of the scheme, they had got assurances that all outstanding issues will soon be resolved.

The former warlords also said the recent advocacy shuttle by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had started yielding positive results in calming frayed nerves in the region.

“During his (Boroh’s) tenure, many more youths have been empowered with various skills acquisition programmes and vocational trainings.

“More efforts have been placed on engaging the youths and making them more relevant and there have been coordinated efforts to ensure the people are being carried along,” the ex-militants said.

The leaders however pleaded with the federal government to release enough funds for the Amnesty office to enable them pay off all outstanding stipends from October to December 2017.

Members of Neo Black Movement (NBM) of Africa has joined numerous organisations and individuals in the world in condemning the human trafficking and slave trade of Nigerians and other African countries in Libya.

According to statement issued yesterday by the organisation which was made available to THISDAY, the President of NBM, Felix Kupa, who expressed sadness over the matter, stressed the need for communities and families to take the initiative of encouraging their children and wards to pursue education, apprenticeship and trade instead of embarking on journeys that most times end in death, rapes and all forms of evils.