The Presidential Amnesty Office (PAO) said on Thursday in Abuja that 30 former militants had been offered welding and fabrication employment by the Proclad Group of Companies in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Chairman of PAO, said this while receiving former militants who graduated from Proclad Academy, a subsidiary of Proclad Group of Companies in Dubai.
Kuku said the Proclad group offered employment to 30 of the 150 ex-militants who were trained by the Proclad Academy because of their exceptional conduct and performance.
He said the office, in collaboration with the International Centre for Non-violence and Peace Development (ICNPD) secured the employment through a partnership with Proclad Academy.
Kuku, who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, said the office, under the post training initiative scheme, also facilitated the immediate employment of 40 maritime trainees by the Century Energy Group in Nigeria.
He said the group had just informed the office that another 24 maritime trainees would be offered employment.
“Four welding and fabrication trainees have been employed in Nigeria by Plants and Processing Service, five offered jobs in South Africa by Ashland Investment Services, while 10 were offered employment by Learning Resources in Ghana,’’ Kuku said.???
He added that the office was working with relevant partners and stakeholders in the Niger Delta and abroad to employ some of the ex-militants who had successfully completed their training.
The special adviser said the responsibility of his office “is to disarm, rehabilitate and reintegrate the former agitators who accepted the amnesty offer’’.
He urged companies in the Niger Delta to comply with the Local Content Law by employing graduating students under the programme to enable them contribute their quota to the development of the country.
In his remarks, the Coordinator of ICNPD, Mr Allen Onyema, urged the graduating trainees who had secured employment in the UAE to subject themselves to all labour laws in their host country.
Onyema warned the ex-militant to desist from vices that might prevent subsequent groups from getting employment in that country.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, Mr Amama Odema commended the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for empowering them to be relevant in the society.