Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has started a five-week mandatory training that will lead to the certification and type rating as licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers of another set of 20 ex-agitators from the Niger Delta region.
A 12-month on-the-job training (OJT) will precede this experience after they successfully graduate from the class course phase of the programme.
The beneficiaries are part of the 75 pilots/aircraft maintenance engineers under the PAP Aviation Training Scheme, out of which a first set of 20 aircraft maintenance engineers were churned out on October 31, 2023.
In his goodwill message at the programme inauguration event on Monday in Lagos, PAP Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), informed the beneficiaries that the flag-off of training for the second batch was another promise fulfilled by his programme.
Ndiomu, who was represented by PAP’s Head of Reintegration, Mr. Wilfred Musa, posited that currently, the global aviation industry was expanding at a rapid pace and manpower development was being emphasized by both the industry operators and regulators.
He reiterated that by this specialised programme, PAP has become a critical supplier of strategic manpower to the global aviation industry.
He added that PAP was poised to sustain this momentum of creating cutting-edge opportunities for the career advancement of Niger Deltans in line with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ for the all important Niger Delta region and Nigeria.
Ndiomu further charged the beneficiaries to disprove naysayers that the programme was a waste of resources, 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. The PAP has provided you with all you require to succeed on this journey, what you owe us in return is excellence,” he said.
In a separate remark, the Managing Director of Alom Aviation Services Ltd, Captain Austin Omame, commended the PAP Interim Administrator for pushing on with the Aviation Resuscitation Programme, adding that with their OJT/Type rating licences in their hands, they can secure aviation jobs anywhere in the world.
One of the beneficiaries, Onyeama Kingsley, who spoke on behalf of the second batch trainees, promised that they would reciprocate the efforts of PAP with dedication and hard work.
