The Niger Delta Youths for Positive Change (NDYPC), has called on Federal Government to increase funding and expand the Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) to ensure sustainable peace, development, and economic stability in the Niger Delta region.
In a recent letter to the National Security Adviser signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Elliott Yibalua Yibakeni, the group on Friday, outlined ten reasons for this expansion, emphasizing the critical role the program plays in fostering peace and empowering communities. It includes;
- Sustained Peace: The PAP has significantly reduced violence in the Niger Delta by mitigating militancy. Enhanced funding would support long-term peace and further developmental efforts, addressing systemic poverty in the region.
- Youth Empowerment: Increased funding would enable broader access to vocational training and educational opportunities, helping to channel youth energy away from militancy and toward constructive economic participation.
- Job Creation: More funds would foster secondary industries, promoting entrepreneurship, skills development, and self-sufficiency, thereby decreasing the allure of militancy.
- Community Development: The program could support grassroots initiatives that empower traditional institutions, women, and youths, improving the quality of life and creating a sense of inclusion in underdeveloped oil-producing communities.
- Social Reintegration: Additional resources would enable proper reintegration of former militants, underserved youths, unskilled and uneducated youths. Thereby reducing poverty and enhancing skill levels within the population.
- Long-term Peacebuilding: The PAP can serve as a foundation for conflict prevention and peacebuilding, addressing potential unrest and fostering dialogue among communities.
- Economic Diversification: With a historical dependence on oil, the region could benefit from investments in alternative livelihoods such as agriculture and tourism, which would reduce reliance on the oil sector and promote sustainable employment.
- Enhanced Monitoring and Evaluation: Expanded funding would improve engagement with communities and provide the government with direct feedback on local needs, helping shape responsive governance.
- Strengthening Local Institutions: A better-funded PAP would support organizations and training centers, helping build domestic capacity and providing alternative revenue streams within Nigeria’s economy.
- National Stability: An expanded PAP would assist in the retrieval of illegal weapons in the Niger Delta, securing peace for future generations and reinforcing national stability.
The NDYPC highlighted the amnesty program’s role in addressing challenges at the grassroots level and emphasized that the future of Nigeria’s peace, prosperity, and security heavily relies on maintaining stability in the Niger Delta.
The group also urged the National Security Adviser to advocate for increased resources for the PAP to ensure its goals are achieved.