Ex-Militants’ Training: FG Dissatisfied With Oil Companies’ Contributions

The?Federal Government is dissatisfied with the training of ex-militants by multinational oil companies, an official said on Sunday in Lagos.

Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on?Niger Delta Matters, said this at an investiture organised in his honour.

He said the companies failed to train 3,000 ex-militants at they pledged but rather gave insufficient training 1,200.

Kuku said that the training given to 1,200 was not relevant to the petroleum industry.

The special adviser said that the government was dissatisfied that oil and gas companies could train youths from?the Niger Delta, as tailors and caterers.

?”It is a terrible experience that the oil and gas multinational companies are not offering quality training to youths from the Niger Delta region.

“This is despite the fact that the sector and its stakeholders pledged to offer assistance to more than 3,000 youths out of the 26, 358.

“I am not pleased with the quality of training and the area, where they are offering such training,’’ he said.

Kuku?said he would soon tour some of the training centres to ascertain the level of progress, adding that the government could withdraw trainees, who are not making progress from the centres.

He said that the government planned to train more than 8,400 Niger- Delta youths in 2012 in the areas that would enable them to secure jobs in the oil and gas sector.

“The target of government is to ensure that in the next few years, youths from the region will have the skills and competences to take all the jobs in the region which?are, at present, given to foreigners. (NAN)