Another set of 20 ex-agitators from the Niger Delta Region have commenced a five-week mandatory training that will lead to their certification and type rating as licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers.
Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (Rtd) said in his goodwill message at a programme inauguration event in Lagos on Monday that the second batch training was another “promise kept” by his administration.
Ndiomu who was represented by PAP’s Head of Reintegration, Mr. Wilfred Musa, charged the beneficiaries to take the training serious.
He said that a 12-month On-the-Job Training (OJT) would precede their experience after their graduation from the class course phase of the programme.
“The beneficiaries are part of the 75 Pilots/Aircraft Maintenance Engineers under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Aviation Training Scheme, out of which a first set of 20 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers successfully graduated recently on Oct. 31, 2023.
“The global aviation industry is expanding at a rapid pace and manpower development is being emphasised by both the industry operators and regulators.
“You represent not just the future of the Niger Delta, but the future of Nigeria and the global aviation industry.
“The PAP has provided you with all you require to succeed on this journey, what you owe us in return is excellence,” he said.
Ndiomu reiterated that the PAP had become a critical supplier of strategic manpower to the global aviation industry going by the specialised programme.
He added that the PAP was poised to sustain the momentum of creating cutting-edge opportunities for the career advancement of Niger Deltans.
He added that their current activities were in line with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” for the Niger Delta region in particular and Nigeria in general.
Ndiomu further charged the beneficiaries to prove naysayers wrong who suggest that the programme was a waste of resources, by striving to be the best.
In a separate remark, Captain Austin Omame, Managing Director, Alom Aviation Services Ltd., commended the PAP Interim Administrator for pushing on with the Aviation Resuscitation Programme.
Omame added that with their OJT/Type rating licences in their hands, they can secure aviation jobs anywhere in the world.
Onyeama Kingsley, one of the beneficiaries who spoke on behalf of the second batch trainees, promised that they would reciprocate the efforts of the PAP with dedication and hard work.
