ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), who participated in two separate entrepreneurship trainings in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his dedication in ensuring the programme is sustained and kept on an even keel.
The Bayelsa State beneficiaries, who were trained by a PAP’s vendor, Seven Oaks Auction and Trading Limited (SOATL), also praised the Interim Administrator of the scheme, Col. Milland Dikio (rtd.), for his good leadership.
The beneficiaries underwent two separate trainings in 2019 and were empowered with starters’ packs in 2021.
The empowerment was in two phases. The first batch of beneficiaries was empowered with tricycles, popularly called Keke Napep, which were distributed on the premises of the Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Yenagoa early this year.
The second batch of beneficiaries was empowered with refrigerators, generators, money and food items in July 2021.
The beneficiaries equally applauded the vendors for strict adherence to laid down procedures of the Amnesty programme and ensuring that all persons who were part of the training were provided with the necessary empowerment items and funding.
One of the beneficiaries, Ebi Sinclair, particularly extolled the virtues of Dikio, saying he proved to be a round peg in a round hole and had shown remarkable dedication to duty.
Sinclair lauded the dexterity of the vendor handling the amnesty empowerment particularly on the way and manner everybody that underwent the training was taken care of without anybody being shortchanged.
She revealed that she benefited immensely from the programme, noting that empowerment items she got had made her an employer of labour.
Another beneficiary, Eddy Michael, said he was trained on how to manage trading stores, and was gifted money and other empowerment items with which he opened his shops and engaged some workers.
Other beneficiaries, Zilpah Darius, Caroline Adaga, also noted that their lives had been positively impacted with the empowerment by the Federal Government through PAP.
They commended Buhari, PAP boss and the vendors for the transparency and integrity in ensuring that empowerment items were distributed in such a manner that nobody was omitted or shortchanged.