Amnesty Programme trains 500 N/Delta youths on health, safety

Five hundred youths sponsored by the Presidential Amnesty Programme for training in health, safety and environment received their certificates at the weekend.

Mr Murphy Ganaga, the Special Assistant on Media to Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Soludo, said in a statement yesterday that this was part of the Federal Government’s efforts towards deepening security, peace and stability in the region.

He said the beneficiaries, drawn from communities in the Niger Delta, were trained at the Onshore and Offshore Safety Institute of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of fresh initiatives to extend gains of the Amnesty Programme to inhabitants of communities impacted during the Niger Delta crisis. Ganagana stated:“Presenting certificates of the institute to the beneficiaries on Friday at a ceremony in Abonnema, Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles

Dokubo, said it signaled the commencement of implementation of a robust action plan for the training and empowerment of youths in the Niger Delta.

“The Presidential Amnesty Programme under my watch will ensure aggressive engagement of youths in the Niger Delta to achieve sustainable peace and development in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for the region. I am determined to ensure that gains of the Amnesty Programme extend beyond beneficiaries enlisted in the Programme to youths in the crisis-impacted communities”.

He quoted Dokubo as saying that the beneficiaries were now fit for engagement in all sectors of the economy, particularly the oil sector, as they had acquired broad training in health, safety and environment.

According to Ganagana, a beneficiary, 30-yearold Ms Bobmanuel Fabiawari Merima, who spoke on behalf of others, commended President Muhammadu Buhari and Dokubo for inspiring the people of Niger Delta with youth empowerment programmes.