In order to create awareness on the work of the Amnesty Office, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty have entered into a strategic partnership to promote agriculture and allied businesses as the preferred vocation for people in the Niger Delta region, especially former militants.
The Director General of NOA, Garba Abari and the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty, General Paul Boroh (rtd) formalized that partnership today at a meeting attended by officials of the two agencies.
According to Abari, the partnership will help to encourage the new policy of strategic engagement by the Federal Government with the leaders and people of the region which has resulted in an increase in federal revenue and ensured peace in the region.
He advised the Amnesty Office to sustain its work in the region in order to achieve the federal government development goals in the region. According to him, the Amnesty Office must ensure the inclusion of youths in the region’s development plan for sustainability.
In his words: “I encourage you to ensure the social inclusion of the youth in the region because they have the advantage of age, strength education and population. 67% of our population is below the age of 35 years of age and every effort must be made to factor the youth into the national development policy”.
The Director General said NOA is a willing partner in the task of creating awareness on agriculture in the region because it has recently began a programme of promoting the “Eat What You Grow and Grow What You Eat” campaign.
The presidential adviser earlier said the Amnesty Office was focusing attention on the agricultural potentials of the region and the partnership with NOA is designed to make agriculture an occupation of choice for the people of the area.
He said the office will build other forms of partnership with other stakeholders at the federal level, including the Ministry of Environment, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) and others.