Vice president urges agitators to shun violence

The Vice President gave the advice at a Presidential dinner in honour of some outstanding granduands of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) at the State House, Abuja.

He also urged them to seek ways to engage robustly with the administration and to avoid things capable of destroying their future.

According to the Vice President the federal government is committed to the PAP in order to give the young people the opportunity to succeed.

He said the administration was building six technology hubs in the country as well as vocation centres to create more opportunities for the youths to be productive to themselves and the country.

Osinbajo, who described the saying that the youths are the future as erroneous, noted that the future of the youths is now.

“The future of the youth has already arrived and your time has come. You are going to define this country.

“The future is bright and good but a lot depends on how you apply yourselves to it,’’ Osinbajo added.

The Vice President extolled the intellectual achievements of the graduands, 45 of whom obtained First Class in various universities in the country and abroad, describing them as one of the brightest minds in the country.

“What we are seeing today has proved the point that men and women are as great as the opportunity they get. Everyone needs opportunity and someone has to give you a helping hand to be able to excel.

“The federal government is committed to give opportunity to all but we have a lot to do opening doors for others.

“Your stories are those of success and the fact that you did well in academics and other training is a testimony of your determination for hard work,’’ he added.

The Special Adviser to the President/Cordinator of the PAP, retired Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for sustaining the amnesty programme introduced by late President Umaru Yar’adua in 2009.

He urged the graduands to apply themselves responsibly in all their endeavours and urged other trainees to take the programme seriously to add value to the development of the Niger Delta region.

Boroh described the PAP as a conflict resolution mechanism and one of the best in the world as the trainees were trained in 16 countries as well as 15 universities in the country.

He requested the Niger Delta people to remain committed to promotion of peace and asked those fomenting trouble in the region to disarm and embrace peace as violence was not the best way to achieve development.

The Chief Executive of Innosson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, who trained about 200 of the agitators in automobile manufacturing, hailed the performance of the graduands and said the sky was their limit.

Chukwuma thanked the federal government for creating the opportunity for the Niger Delta youth to be usefully engaged and urged the people not to misuse the chance for a better country.

The Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass in Bayelsa and first Military Governor of Old Rivers, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, said he was very elated about the PAP which was in line with the programmes of the state when he was in office.

He said the youth had blazed the trail and expressed the hope that the programme would reach out to other parts of the country.

He advised the federal government to get corporate organisations to support the programme.