News
‘Over 350 Ex-Agitators Yet To Be Gainfully Employed’
The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd) has disclosed that over 350 ex-agitators from the Niger Delta were yet to receive gainful employment.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Ndiomu stated that he had already met and initiated plans with the Head of Service, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, to ensure that the 350 Niger-Deltans get jobs.
However, in her promise during Ndiomu’s visit to Yemi-Esan last November, she vowed and agreed to commence the employment process of the 350 ex-agitators with immediate effect.
Ndiomu said, “As a matter of fact, they have actually been distributed to various ministries; the numbers were stated in the correspondences.
“I realised that I needed to give it that additional push which I can assure you is in progress, the Head of Service was very kind and magnanimous, she’s looking into it and I believe by the time the Vice President gets involved, I’m positive that we would have these 350 individuals gainfully employed in the various ministries of the Federal Civil Service.”
He further revealed that a snippet from the education audit showed that three-quarter of the ex-agitators, which accounts for about 263 of the 350, have not been trained.
According to him, “One of the directives that we were given was to carry out an education audit to ascertain the number of ex-agitators that have been trained in educational and tertiary institutions across the country and overseas. Of course, the audit programme is still on, we have just received the report of the education audit; we are studying it at the moment.
“But I think snippets of it that I can give for now, very clearly three-quarter of the beneficiaries are not the ex-agitators that the programme was intended to cater for. Therefore, we have a large number of ex-agitators that have not been trained. They have not been beneficiaries of this scholarship scheme nor have they been trained in any vocational training centres.
“Although it could still be argued that in certain cases, some of the ex-agitators surrendered their rights to be educated. And they surrendered that right to their siblings, children and members of their communities in quite a number of cases.
“So, it was necessarily the fault of anyone but then again I have received complaints from the same ex-agitators that they were left out in the training program that has been carried out by the PAP. This seems to have worked as cross-purposes with the true intention of those who established the programme.”
Giving reasons for the suspension of the Presidential Amnesty Scholarship Programme, Ndiomu said it came on the heels of huge costs of the PAP programme.
He said, “Let me quickly mention here that one of the reasons it was necessary to suspend the scholarship programme was because of the costs of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. For example, we now have a total of well over 3,000 individuals to whom scholarships have been awarded.
“If you look at the bill, tuition fees are well over N7billion for the section. We are talking about onshore 3,000 plus, offshore, there’s no government institution. There was a need to take a second look at it and that was why we had that problem with Baze University because it was just impossible to pay the tuition across these institutions.
“These were not government-owned universities; we are talking about private universities. Millions of Naira on individual students, I don’t want to put blame on anyone but that was without any doubt, reckless.
“There was need to take a second look at it which we are doing and we are not going to suspend the scholarships which have already been awarded because it was not the fault of these children to be awarded these scholarships, we have to work out a way of looking for the funds to upset these huge bills that we are confronted with.
“That’s why it was possible to discuss with Baze University to do a certain percentage payment, so that later on this year, we will be able to upset the balance of the tuition fees. We hope to do that with all other institutions before we can begin to talk about re-awarding scholarships in a more rational and reasonable manner consistent with the budget of the amnesty programme.”
The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has begun the celebration of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary with a Juma’at service where prayers were offered for the progress of the state and Nigeria.
Governor Fubara, who advocated for peace and unity of Nigeria during the prayers on Friday at the Rivers State Central Mosque, Port Harcourt, indicated that without peace, the accelerated development of Nigeria will remain in a limbo.
Governor Fubara, who was represented by Alhaji Abdurrazaq Diepriye, therefore urged citizens to remain patriotic.
According to him, “Allah has brought us this far. Without peace, we can not have progress and economic development. I call on all citizens irrespective of creed or tribe to remain patriotic.”
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for restoring peace in Rivers State while also using the forum to appreciate security agencies for their relentless effort in upholding the peace and unity of Rivers State and Nigeria.
The Chief Imam of Rivers State Central Mosque, Imam Ibrahim Yaloo, admonished Moslem faithful to always speak the truth, adding that those who obey Allah will be directed to good deeds and their sins forgiven.
Prayers were offered for Rivers State and Nigeria.
Other activities to mark the 65th Independence anniversary in the state include an Inter-denominational Church Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, 28th September and Parade Ceremony on Wednesday, 1st October.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima departed New York on Sunday after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a statement released on Sunday by the VP media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President is now headed to Germany, where he will hold strategic meetings with officials of Deutsche Bank.
The statement read, “Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed New York, United States, after successfully representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“During his participation at UNGA 80, VP Shettima secured UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ commendation for Nigeria’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
“He also showcased Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunity to global investors and strengthened strategic partnerships with the UK on trade, defence, and migration issues.”
Nkwocha added that the VP delivered Tinubu’s national statement, calling for UN reforms and a permanent seat for Nigeria at the UN Security Council, and “demanded Africa’s control over its $700 billion mineral wealth, and digital inclusion initiatives.”
“He also engaged with the Gates Foundation on healthcare and education expansion, positioning Nigeria as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s $3.4 trillion market.
“VP Shettima was seen off at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, by cabinet Ministers who were part of the UNGA 80 delegation and Nigerian Mission officials.”
The aide noted that Shettima will return to Nigeria immediately after his engagements in Germany.
The Tide source recalls that the VP departed Abuja, yesterday.
He led other Nigerian officials at the Assembly.
As part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary celebration, the Federal Government held a special thanksgiving service on Sunday at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja to offer prayers and give thanks for the nation.
The event drew top government officials and security chiefs, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, as well as their spouses.
Other notable guests included Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, former Plateau State Governor, Senator Simon Lalong, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who led the service chiefs in attendance.
Service chiefs present included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap and Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, among others.00
The service came days after the government unveiled the official theme and some of the activities slated for the 2025 Independence celebrations.
This year’s anniversary is tagged “Nigeria @ 65: All Hands on Deck for a Greater Nation,” as announced by the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, in a statement on Wednesday.
“As part of activities to mark the 65th Independence Anniversary, the Juma’at Prayer and the Inter-Denominational Church Service will be held on Friday, 26th September at 1 pm and Sunday, 28th September at 10 am respectively, as well as the World Press Conference on Monday, 29th September at 10 am,” he said.
The Tide source had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, alongside former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, is expected as a special guest at a national discourse convened by the Island Club, Lagos, to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
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