Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), has appealed to theNiger Delta people in the Diaspora to come home and invest their money in the region.
Dikio took his time to reel out various opportunities in the region, especially in maritime, agriculture and oil and gas, saying the sectors were begging for investments.
Speaking at the 2022 Ijaw Diaspora Convention, which held in New Jersey, USA, on July 3rd, Dikio referred to the palm oil sub-sector as another opportunity with huge economic potential begging for attention.
He decried the emphasis on crude oil, explaining that palm oil had broader market, greater economic value and better profit, if serious investments could be made to harness it.
Dikio described the opportunities in the region as new market frontiers waiting for investors to unlock them and reap bountiful economic benefits.
He allayed the security fears of those in the Diaspora, saying deliberate and continual engagement of stakeholders in the region has helped to calm down frayed nerves and restore peace in the region.
He told them that the management of the PAP had redesigned the training programmes of ex-agitators with the introduction of the novel Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) initiative to make ex-agitators competent entrepreneurs and employable citizens.
Dikio said with the new concept, the era of dumping beneficiaries after training was over.
He disclosed that currently under TEM 1500 delegates have gone through evaluation for possible job placement while over 800 have been deployed in various reputable companies to pursue careers in maritime, agriculture, oil and gas among others.
Besides, Dikio told those in the Diaspora that the ex-agitators no longer blocked roads because the PAP mandate has been restored to being beneficiaries focused with new conflict resolution system.
Dikio further said his administration created the Strategic Communications Committee (SCC) comprising ex-agitators, who were taught negotiating skills, bridge building, networking and other friendly ways of resolving conflicts.
The Amnesty boss reiterated that his leadership was focused on the mission of making ex-agitators economically self-reliant, either through entrepreneurship or paid employments.
Correcting the misconceptions of PAP, Dikio said: “The broader amnesty package is critical for all to understand because people equate the whole basket of incentives that the Federal Government rolled out at the time of the Amnesty declaration to the amnesty programme.
“Amnesty programme is always mistaken for the Niger Delta Recovery Plan with many placing unrealistic expectations on the programme. It is a Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration programme, in essence a holding fort to create enabling environment for peace to reign in the Niger Delta.
“It is pertinent to know that the Ministry of Niger Delta and the NDDC are saddled with infrastructural development in the Niger Delta.”