By Favour Nnabugwu

The partnership drive by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has begun to yield fruits as the sectors have given their support to integrate the trained ex-militants into the various fields of the endeavours in the aviation industry.

Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika who received in audience a delegation led by the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh said the ex-militants who have undergone various academic and vocational trainings in Europe, America, Asia and African countries as pilots and other fields in the aviation sub-sector would be incorporated in the sector.

According to Sirika “I believe that in every sector where the ex-militants get some training, they will be absorbed, we will be working together. We are going to create a desk for that purpose in this Ministry.” “We will do the best that we can to integrate them back into the sector to show people that when you do good thing you get good in return.

“We are going to create a desk for the purpose of integrating these ex-agitators who have acquired skills that are needed in this sector,” he said. “Nigeria is in need of these skills and we will do the best that we can to integrate them back into the sector to show to people that when you do good in return.”

The Minister said, “Aviation is a critical sector of Aviation sector which is precision driven had found some of their ex agitators to acquire such skills.” The Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme, Boroh stated the visit to the Minister was to see how best some of the over 30,000 ex-militants could be incorporated in the aviation industry.

“The Amnesty programme is in its third and critical phase which has to do with integration of ex-agitators of Niger Delta. They are about 30000 and some of them have skills relating to Aviation industry that is why we have come to partner with the Minister of Aviation to collaborate and bring our synergy together to see how we can integrate ex agitators who have skills in Aviation.”

“We have some who are trained as pilots, aircraft engineers, communications and all fields relating to the Aviation industry. They should be integrated into the sector so they can be better persons in the society.” Boroh said that all the outstanding allowances owed to the delegates had been paid and was on course to meeting the medium term target of setting up strategic partnership with key government agencies and state governments of Niger-Delta.

He explained that these partnerships “aim to boost skills utilisation to close existing development gaps particularly in the Niger-Delta region and Nigeria at large”. He maintained the partnership would help to create viable job opportunities for trained delegates under the programme for sustainable integration.

The Coordinator also said that the collaboration with the critical agencies of government and particularly the private sector would help harness available trained manpower under the programme for placements in various establishments. “This is why we have come to the ministry so that we can collaborate and bring our synergy together to see how we can reintegrate these ex-agitators and make them to be better persons in the society.

“We have some who are trained as pilots, some are aircraft engineers, some in communication and other aviation-related fields,” he said.