Matilda Omonaiye/
Efforts by the Federal Government to deepen security, peace and stability in the Niger Delta through the engagement of youths in the region, recorded a huge success at the weekend, as 500 persons sponsored by the Presidential Amnesty Programme for training in health, safety and environment, received their certificates.
Beneficiaries of the professional development course drawn from communities in the Niger Delta were trained at the Onshore and Offshore Safety Institute of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as part of fresh initiatives to extend gains of the Amnesty Programme to inhabitants of communities impacted during the Niger Delta crisis.
Presenting certificates of the institute to the beneficiaries on Friday at a ceremony in Abonnema, Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, said it signalled the commencement of implementation of a robust action plan for the training and empowerment of youths in the Niger Delta.
“The Presidential Amnesty Programme under my watch will ensure aggressive engagement of youths in the Niger Delta to achieve sustainable peace and development in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for the region. I am determined to ensure that gains of the Amnesty Programme extend beyond beneficiaries enlisted in the Programme to youths in the crisis-impacted communities,” he said.
Dokubo who expressed joy with the certification of the 500 youths after training, said they were now fit for engagement in all sectors of the economy, particularly the oil sector, as they had acquired broad training in health, safety and environment.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries of the training, 30-year-old Ms Bobmanuel Fabiawari Merima commended President Buhari and Dokubo for inspiring the people of Niger Delta with youth empowerment programmes.
“We thank them for sponsoring us for this intensive professional development programme at the end of which we were awarded Health, Safety and Environment Level One, Two and Three certificates. With this, I can fight a fire, manage waste, issue a work permit, identify hazardous areas, and manage environmental safety,” she said.
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