Yenagoa—Colonel Milland Dikio, the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), has urged beneficiaries of the programme not to solely rely on the N65,000 monthly stipend they are being paid, Dailyreport Nigeria reports.
He stated this during a meeting with first phase leaders of the PAP in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.
Dikio pointed out that his new model of “train, employ and mentor programme” was designed to make ex-agitators employers of labour.
According to him, “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.”
Mangrovepen.ng gathered that the PAP boss, while explaining how percentage slots of the reviewed scholarship scheme is being allotted, revealed that 70 percent of the scholarship slots would be allocated for ex-agitators, 20 percent for impacted communities, and 10 per cent for PAP’s discretion.
He further promised to look into the challenges and concerns of the ex-agitators.
In his remarks, one of the first phase leaders of the PAP, Joshua Macaiver said that: “Before the current amnesty boss came on board, certain things went so wrong that when they talked about the amnesty programme, some of us would say that the programme had failed.
He stated that “the current amnesty boss sees us as part of the programme, we are very hopeful and have faith that something good will come out of this administration.”
Leaders present at the meeting include; Speaker of Bayelsa House State of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ingobere; Paul Eris, popularly called Ogunboss; a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Felix Bonny-Ayah; Pastor Reuben and Joshua Macaiver.
