Int’l Day for Poverty Eradication: PAP Restates Commitment to Fighting Poverty in N’Delta

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has affirmed that its initiatives are geared towards eradicating poverty in the Niger Delta region, particularly in the lives of ex-agitators.

The PAP Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), reiterated this commitment while speaking with journalists Tuesday in Abuja in commemoration of the 2023 International Day for Eradication of Poverty. 

He said PAP, under his leadership, was creatively setting up opportunities to impact the lives of ex-agitators beyond dependence on the N65,000 monthly stipend. 

Harping on this year’s theme of the Poverty Eradication Day, ‘Decent Work And Social Protection: Putting Dignity in Practice For All’, Ndiomu said the initiatives introduced by PAP will create windows of opportunities for ex-agitators to escape the prediction of the World Bank, which estimated that over the next decade, one billion young people will bid to enter the job market, but less than half of them will actually find formal jobs.

He noted that the already floated PAP Cooperative Scheme for ex-agitators, empowerment/vocational trainings 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 had received funding in loans to undertake agribusiness and other lucrative ventures, while 2,500 applications were waiting to be processed.

He highlighted the 75 pilots and aircraft engineers sponsored by the Presidential Amnesty Programme to various Aviation Training Organizations (ATO’s) in Lagos (Nigeria), Johannesburg (South Africa) and Toulouse (France) for type-rating courses as part of its aviation training scheme.

Ndiomu recalled that when PAP was instituted in 2009 by late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, the age range of ex-agitators who laid down their arms, was between 25 and 30. 

He noted that 14 years later, they have now hit an unemployable age range of between 50 and 55 years. 

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

The interim administrator commended President Bola Tinubu for his determination to give further support and sustain the process, and give the PAP more life.

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