SUN NEWS

The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dikio (Rtd), has called for a stronger relationship between the scheme and the military to strengthen the former’s momentum.

Dikio spoke when he led senior officials of PAP to visit the Nigerian Naval Engineering College, Sapele, Delta and the Naval Shipyard Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers.

Dikio, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Nneotaobase Egbe, PAP would build on such partnership to further reposition the scheme.

He said PAP was going through a lot of transformation.

Dikio explained that as an institution, the military had a vital role to play in the newly-introduced Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) Scheme, designed to provide a new approach to the training and empowerment of ex-agitators.

He said apart from specialised maritime and engineering courses, the ex-agitators would also be exposed to military discipline and precision.

“I know the military has a lot of highly installed capacity and as much as possible, those of us looking in from outside want to tap into the capacity through knowledge and skill transfer.

“This creates the bridge that enhances the civil-military relationship in our society.

“On the substance of it, the core of the ex-agitators are largely from the riverine communities and so the current management of PAP is of the thought process that they have inherent skills and if we can convert that energy positively, they will contribute to our dominance of the maritime economy.

“There is a lot, so many of them are beginning to realise that the economy of the Niger Delta is not just oil. There is a lot that can be harnessed if only we keep our heads down and look carefully around us.”, Dikio stated.

In his remarks, the Commandant of the Nigerian Naval Engineering College, Commodore A. Abdullahi enumerated some of the courses offered by the institution and said they were ready to work with PAP to achieve its intentions for ex-agitators.

Also, the Superintendent of the Naval Shipyard Limited, Rear Adm. S.J. Oyegade, pledged the support of the company towards the realisation of the core objectives of the PAP.  (NAN)