Amnesty Programme brings back 27 beneficiaries from Ghana

From Linus Oota, Lafia

Twenty-seven beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) who completed a six-month training in automobile engineering at the Hyundai Automobile Centre in Koforidua, Eastern Region, Ghana, on April 2, have been evacuated to Nigeria amidst the COVID-19 challenges.

They arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja yesterday aboard an Air Peace chartered flight around 2 p.m and were received by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Amnesty Office.

In line with the protocols put in place by the Presidential Task Force for management of the Coronavirus, the 27 returnees were taken to a hotel at the highbrow Maitama District of Abuja to be quarantined for 14 days.

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The elated Amnesty beneficiaries hailed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), for authorising their return back to Nigeria.

Leader of the beneficiaries, Mr. Omieh Orlando, also thanked the chairman and members of the caretaker committee handling the Amnesty Programme for facilitating the smooth evacuation process.

He praised President Muhammadu Buhari for the gesture and sustaining the Amnesty Programme in his determination to reposition the Niger Delta region.

Mr. Emmanuel Ifie, Managing Director of Esco & Jester Services Limited, the consultant for the training of the beneficiaries, expressed joy over the evacuation.

“The Amnesty Programme caretaker committee has been remarkable, efficient in terms of the evacuation, which was timely. They consulted effectively and the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana was also helpful,” he said.