BEVERLY HILLS, September 02, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has revealed that it has no plans to enrol fresh set of militants into the amnesty programme saying only 30,000 ex-agitators were captured in the programme.
This was disclosed on Friday by Paul Boroh, Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, while playing host to stakeholders of the programme in Abuja.
“Amnesty programme worldwide has a limit because it is a master piece strategy to resolve militancy,” he said.
“When that of Nigeria was established in 2009, it was supposed to exist for a particular time.
“I do not intend to bring in more agitators into the programme because that is not my mandate. My mandate is to reintegrate 30,000 ex-agitators that are already in the programme.
“I do not think that the federal government is going to have another amnesty programme; it is very expensive and at present, our economy is not in the right status.”
He added that the success of the programme has swelled the ranks of thousands of armed youths seeking to lay down their arms and live normal lives saying that 22 ex-agitators under the programme had graduated from Jordan as aircraft maintenance engineers.
Boroh also said that 72 ex-agitators graduated in aquaculture and fishery at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Calabar adding that the programme had also recorded successes in automobile technology.
However, he said though the programme had been a great success, it was better to work than to think of a scheme that would provide stipend every month.
He advised youths to embrace agriculture as a primary or secondary means of earning income in order to generate jobs, create wealth and achieve food security.
Story by David Oputah
