As the world marks the 2023 International Day for Eradication of Poverty, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has affirmed that its initiatives are tied to eradicating poverty in the Niger Delta Region, particularly in the lives of ex-agitators.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, the Interim Administrator of the programme, Maj Gen Barry Ndiomu (retd), said PAP, under his leadership, is creatively setting up opportunities to impact the lives of ex-agitators beyond dependence on N65,000 monthly stipends.

Harping on this year’s theme of Poverty Eradication Day, “Decent Work And Social Protection: Putting Dignity In Practice For All,” Ndiomu said the initiatives that PAP has so far introduced will create windows of opportunity for ex-agitators to escape the prediction of the World Bank, which estimates that over the next decade, “one billion young people will try to enter the job market, but less than half of them will find formal jobs.”

Ndiomu noted that the already floated PAP cooperative scheme for ex-agitators, empowerment and vocational training, and many more initiatives that are still in the pipeline will solve poverty and change the negative narratives of the region.

He added that over 700 ex-agitators have so far received funding in loans to undertake agribusiness and other lucrative ventures, while 2,500 applications are waiting to be processed.

He highlighted the 75 pilots and aircraft engineers sponsored by PAP to various aviation training organisations in Lagos (Nigeria), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Toulouse (France) for type-rating courses as part of its aviation training scheme.

Gen Ndiomu recalled that when the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua instituted the Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2009, the age range of ex-agitators who laid down their arms was 25 to 30. He noted that 14 years later, they have now hit an unemployable age range of 50 to 55.

With this reality in mind, Ndiomu downplayed PAP’s drive to channel the mindsets of ex-agitators away from formal employment and the entitlement mentality towards more viable and sustainable means of livelihood.

Ndiomu commended President Bola Tinubu for his determination to give further support to the programme.

“The President has the interests of the Niger Delta at heart. We will work in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda to change the negative narratives of the region,” Ndiomu said.