The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has resolved to collaborate with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in tackling pipeline insecurity, unemployment to ensure peace in the Niger Delta.
The agreement was reached during a courtesy visit by PAP’s Interim Administrator, Col. Milland Dikio (retd.), where he led a delegation to the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, in Abuja.
In a statement by PAP’s special adviser on Media, Neotaobase Egbe, Dikio said the meeting was in line with the objectives of the amnesty scheme to partner with all relevant stakeholders for the full implementation of the amnesty programme.
He maintained that based on the Niger Delta Recovery Plan, the programme was inviting willing partners to have a robust synergy to drive the plan.
The amnesty administrator noted that although the PAP was executing its role in reintegrating 30,000 ex-agitators captured by the Presidency, there was an urgent need to strengthen the partnership between sister agencies of the government for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta.
Dikio explained that the NNPC had responsibilities in oil assets redistribution, infrastructural development and environmental remediation.
He said there was a need to control disruptions in oil production, as destructive energies could be channelled into productive ventures through re-orientation and sustained advocacy.
In his remarks, the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, commended Dikio for the efforts to ensure peace in the Niger Delta as he emphasised the need to sustain the peace through inclusiveness of Niger Delta youths.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the inability of the oil industry to fulfil its obligations to the region over the years, noting that it was one of the reasons the amnesty programme had been prolonged.
