The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dikio (retd.), has said the scheme is concerned with ensuring food security and developing the blue economy of the Niger-Delta.
Dikio made the call on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting with the European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS.
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He said that militancy was a thing of the past in many oil producing communities in the south-south states and that the PAP will continue to work closely with stakeholders to achieve a sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and job creation in the region.
“We, in the Amnesty Programme, are concerned with food security and the whole gamut of the blue economy. The framework for achieving that is to focus on the young people between the ages 12-18 years, because we believe that giving them a new outlook on life will stem the tide that leads to deviant behaviors.
“Therefore, we want to collaborate with the EU to address the root causes of instability in the Niger-Delta region,” he said.
Dikio said that the amnesty office was also exploring what he described as the ‘heart and mind’ approach to conflict resolution in the Niger-Delta.
He said, “We don’t believe that every problem with the nail needs a hammer, because we are at peace with our people. We listen to them and proffer solution. We are not able to meet all their problems, but we are pointing them to other ways of expressing grievances. That is why you have relative peace in the Niger-Delta.”
In her remarks, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Samuela Isopi, said though all of the EU projects in the Niger-Delta are coming to an end, the EU will focus its next development agenda on addressing the climatic and environmental impact of oil exploration in the region.
Isopi, represented by the Head of Political Affairs Office, EU delegation to Nigeria, Thomas Kieler, said that Dikio’s assessment on the need to address the root causes and the underlying issues bedeviling the Niger-Delta is apt.
She said, “The EU is a long-standing partner in the Niger-Delta. In the region, we have been active since 2008. We have been there with a big development and programme called the Niger-Delta Support Programme.
“We have been using about €250m in the region. There have been a number of other projects, essential those projects are coming to an end, but we would like to keep our focus on the Niger-Delta and to address the current situation and assist the local area and the population towards prosperity and development.”
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