PAP Seeks NCC Partnership On Beneficiaries' Empowerment

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has sought the partnership of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on engagement opportunities for some ex-agitators and beneficiaries of the programme.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC in Abuja, Dr Aminu Maida, on Thursday, the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, said that the commission's support would bolster the PAP's post-training empowerment scheme.

Otuaro said there are ex-agitators and beneficiaries of the programme with the requisite qualifications and skills that the commission can employ and enable them to contribute to national growth and development.

According to him, there are many of them who had successfully completed their formal educational and vocational trainings in relevant fields as part of the PAP's effort at human capacity development.

He described them as potential human resources that can be harnessed for the socio-economic advancement of the Niger Delta and indeed the country.

The PAP helmsman said, "We are on a mission to seek support and collaboration with government agencies like the NCC to see how some of them can be engaged so that they can contribute their quota to national development.

"The whole scope of the programme centres on national and human security where the beneficiaries are trained in formal education and vocational skills, including information technology. Many persons have been trained in various professional fields.

"So far, we have over 18000 persons that have been trained. These are potential human resources that should be harnessed for national development. By the design of the programme, we have the post-training, employment and empowerment component.

"So we have an army of human resources that will contribute to national growth when engaged. We also have persons with doctors of philosophy (PhDs) that can be easily engaged, and that is the essence of the human capacity development that we carry out."

In his remarks, the NCC boss expressed the commission's commitment to providing support and equal opportunities to people without bias, stressing that there should also be evidence of value from interventions.

Maida said the commission was poised to carry out its mandate as a regulatory agency while ensuring access to digital connectivity by all citizens.

He, however, called for infrastructure security against vandalism to protect digital assets and sustain digital connectivity across the country.