Amnesty office begins training of 20 more ex-agitators as aircraft engineers

Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has begun training of the second batch of 20 ex-agitators from the Niger Delta Region on Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs).

The five-week mandatory training will lead to certification and type-rating of the trainees as licensed AMEs, to be followed by a 12-month On-the-Job Training (OJT).

The beneficiaries are part of the 75 Pilots/AMEs under the PAP Aviation Training Scheme, out of which a first set of 20 AMEs successfully graduated on October 31, 2023.

In his goodwill message at a programme in Lagos, Interim Administrator of PAP, Maj-Gen. Barry Ndiomu (rtd), noted that the flag-off of training for the second batch is another “promise kept” by his administration.

Ndiomu, who was represented by PAP’s Head of Reintegration, Wilfred Musa, posited that the global aviation industry was expanding at a rapid pace; hence, the emphasis on manpower development by industry operators and regulators.

He reiterated that by the specialised programme, PAP had become a critical supplier of strategic manpower to the global aviation industry.

PAP, he added, is poised to sustain the momentum of creating cutting-edge opportunities for the career advancement of Niger Deltans.

According to him, PAP is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ for the Niger Delta region and Nigeria.

He further charged the beneficiaries to prove naysayers, who see the programme as a waste of resources, wrong by striving to be the best.   “You represent not just the future of the Niger Delta, but the future of Nigeria and the global aviation industry,” he said. “The PAP has provided you with all you require to succeed on this journey, what you owe us in return is excellence.”

Managing Director of Alom Aviation Services Limited, Austin Omame, commended the PAP administrator for pushing on with the Aviation Resuscitation Programme, adding that with their OJT/Type-rating licences in their hands, they could secure aviation jobs anywhere in the world.

One of the beneficiaries, Kingsley Onyeama, who spoke on behalf of the trainees, promised that they would reciprocate the efforts of the PAP with dedication and hard work.