Senator Ita Enang, SSA to the President on Niger Delta Affairs
The Senior Special Assistant (Niger Delta Affairs) to President, Senator Ita Enang has urged the federal government to engage ex-militants who were trained on refining of crude oil under the amnesty programme.
Thousands of youths of the Niger Delta who embraced the federal government amnesty programme under the President Musa Yar’Adua administration were trained on different vocations sponsored by the federal government but have not been engaged after all.
In a goodwill message at the 4th National Council on Hydrocarbons held in Abuja, Senator Enang decried the impoverishment faced by residents of the Niger Delta region where most IOCs operate, saying that engaging members of those communities who have requisite skills needed in the petroleum industry would have lifted thousands of families out of extreme poverty.
“Take cognisance that the host communities were still being impoverished while the IOCs keep making profits.”
“The Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, as well as the amnesty programme had trained some ex-militants on better refining techniques, they (ex-militants) should be engaged.”
He said local refiners should be recognised and integrated into the overall refining process.
Enang urged the council on hydro-carbon to further deliberate on the need for stakeholders to be aware of the development and prospects of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme and the efforts being made to realise the objectives of the programme.
