The Presidential Amnesty Programme is sponsoring 75 pilots and aircraft engineers to South Africa and France for type-rating as part of its aviation training scheme, the Interim Administrator of the PAP, Major General Barry Ndiomu (retd.), said on Friday.

He also said that sanitary measures carried out on the PAP database revealed that certain beneficiaries and ex-agitators had multiple accounts linked to their BVNs.

“Further verification of the payment list revealed that certain beneficiaries had multiple accounts linked to their BVNs. In total, 513 beneficiaries had 1370 accounts on the payment list linked to their BVNs. Other anomalies were that of certain accounts not linked to their BVNs; this group had a total of 2601 accounts.

“To rectify those irregularities, a portal was created by PAP (_stver.osapnd.gov.ng) for the affected beneficiaries to log in, and those with multiple accounts linked to their BVNs were to choose just one account in order to have their payments regularised. A total of 1,561 accounts have been cleared and paid in full to date and presently, multiple account fraud has been eradicated from the payment list”, he said.

According to him, a total of 847 delegates are currently undergoing training at the National Information Technology Development Agency in various ICT-specialised field.

The delegates would be certified in digital marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, computer appreciation, search engine optimization, as well as technical and computer writing.

In a statement, the Special Assistant (Media) to the PAP CEO, Freston Akpor, said that from vocational training centres to opportunities in Federal Government agencies, and incentives for viable SMEs, the innovative ideas initiated by Ndiomu would guarantee the socio-economic sustainability of ex-agitators and young people in the Niger Delta.

He said enormous windows of employment opportunities have been provided for ex-agitators in the oil-rich Niger Delta region to thrive.

Akpor said, “Under General Ndiomu, a total of 847 delegates are undergoing training in the National Information Technology Development Agency in various ICT specialised fields with certification in digital marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, computer appreciation, search engine optimisation, as well as technical and computer writing.

“Similarly, the PAP is sponsoring 75 pilots and aircraft engineers to South Africa and France for type-rating as part of the programme’s aviation training scheme, which General Ndiomu is very passionate about. A breakdown of the figure indicates that 35 delegates are pilots, while 40 are billed for aircraft engineering.

“A major boost to that initiative was the launching of the PAP Cooperative Scheme with an initial sum of N1.5 billion as seed money in the account with an additional N100 million operational fund to be solely managed by the ex-agitators. The cooperative scheme has an eminent jurist, Justice Francis Tabai, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as chair of the board with a team of experienced consultants to assist in nurturing the cooperative into fruition. This will create a conducive environment for small businesses to grow to become the catalyst for economic development in the Niger Delta.”

Speaking on the vocational training centres designed to provide skills for the teeming youths in the region when completed, he emphasised that the PAP has cleared monies owed to contractors to facilitate the completion of five vocational centres across the region.

“Relevant higher institutions of learning, training institutes and development partners have undertaken spot assessments to re-evaluate existing infrastructure, update software and service equipment, including those left at Boro Town after it was burgled, to bring the centres, including an additional one to be sited in Bayelsa, up to speed and eminent take-off. The management under General Ndiomu has also cleared all debts related to ongoing training schemes,” he maintained.

He added that under General Ndiomu’s watch, the PAP has provided employment for a critical number of young graduates from the Niger Delta in line with the vision of the PAP, thereby reducing the culture and cycle of dependency and indolence.

“The Presidential Amnesty Programme has gained a huge mileage from September last year through the initiatives introduced by General Ndiomu and his managerial acumen has impacted positively on the programme. Unfortunately, the lies and blackmail will not deter the Interim Administrator from doing what is right by the majority of ex-agitators and the people of the Niger Delta,” Akpor said. (The PUNCH)

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