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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Ninety-eight maritime delegates sponsored by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for a boot camp and a refresher course in specialised maritime-related skills at the Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, Otomewo, Delta State, have completed their training.
The PAP administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, has declared that the delegates have been equipped effectively to enhance President Bola Tinubu’s blue economy policy.
Speaking at the formal close-out ceremony for the 98 PAP maritime cadets to mark their graduation, Dr Otuaro, said their deployment for the exercise was part of the PAP’s manpower and human resources development schemes for the Niger Delta.
He described the training as strategic, stressing that it was aimed at equipping the maritime cadets with the requisite skills for the country’s maritime industry, anchored on President Bola Tinubu’s policy on the blue economy.
He said: “I am very delighted that you have successfully completed your boot camp and refresher course. It is another significant milestone that underscores the commitment of the PAP under my leadership towards developing the requisite manpower and human capital for the Niger Delta.
“Manpower and human resources development are critical to the economic growth and development of the Niger Delta, and indeed, the country.
“More importantly, your training in specialised maritime-related skills is very strategic. It aligns with the policy of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, on the blue economy to harness the massive opportunities in the nation’s maritime industry for national development.”
He lauded the President, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for their unwavering support for the PAP and the region’s economic growth, development, and stability.
Otuaro said his administration would strive to train more Niger Deltans in specialised vocational skills in diverse trade areas, formal education, and post-training empowerment, among others, under the programme’s reintegration template to foster sustainable peace in the region.
He commended them for demonstrating high discipline throughout the training, urging them to show professionalism and competence, which would help them when players in the maritime industry engage their services.
The MD/CEO of Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, Akpos Epidei, thanked the PAP administrator for believing in their ability to carry out the training and made recommendations for higher certification programmes for maritime cadets shortly.
Ebi Jackson, valedictorian of the successful maritime cadets, expressed gratitude to the PAP administrator for the boot camp and refresher course, adding that they benefited greatly from the exercise.
