PUNCH NIGERIA

The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Col. Milland Dikio (rtd), has said the PAP is partnering the Bayelsa State Government to revive the state’s moribund 500 fish ponds as a training facility for ex-agitators on fish farming.

Dikio stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Commander of the joint task force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Aminu Hassan, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

He noted that the ex-agitators, who had already acquired skills, would be constituted into cooperatives and attached to small and medium enterprises on three identified platforms of food security, maritime security and maritime transport.

The fish farm, which is sited in Yenegwe area of Yenagoa, was established by the administration of former Governor Seriake Dickson in November 2016, as part of its plans for economic diversification.

Dikio expressed optimism that the fish ponds would help in boosting job opportunities in the region.

The PAP boss said, “There is a 500-pond fish farm in Bayelsa that is moribund. We are working with the government to activate the ponds to use them as training facilities for our boys to increase the employment potential in the region.

“We recognise that some of them have acquired some skills and we have decided to form them into cooperatives and match them with the appropriate SMEs. We have three platforms — food security, maritime security and maritime transport.

“We also noted from the beginning that the major issue that led to their outpouring on the street is the lack of payment of their allowances. We have taken measures to ensure that their payment is received regularly and timely and we set for ourselves the 25th of every month as their pay day.”