Ex-militants in Ondo State, weekend, hailed Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, for facilitating establishment of the new oil and gas vocational training centre in the state. Oil Speaking at the commissioning of the vocational centre located at Agadagba -Obon Ese -Odo Local Government Area, the ex-militants described the newly built centre as one capable of training thousands of people to take up activities on oil exploration and refining in other to boost production in the oil and gas industry. Reacting to the new feat, an ex-militant, Obifie Tamara, who spoke on behalf of others, commended the government of Rotimi Akeredolu for keeping to promises made to former Niger-Delta agitators by empowering and making them self-reliance. Tamara maintained that the new training centre would help take many wantonly youths away from the streets. He also added, that the development was another way of solving challenges associated with unemployment and crime.
The ex-militant who laments the rate at which criminal activities have escalated in the state, said the oil and gas vocational training centre would engage youths who must have been involved in violent acts due to idleness. He was confident that the Amnesty Programme would be stronger than expected if other Niger-Delta states could reciprocate the development by establishing the oil and gas vocational training centre to help ex-agitators back on the right footing. Speaking further, Tamara said ex-militants were excited with the news of the centre partnering the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun for training and certification. He lauded Governor Akeredolu’s effort in making sure more investors come into the state to invest, while promising to protect the water-ways against theft and oil pipeline vandalization. The ex-agitator therefore urged people of the state to make good use of the facility and guide it like their personal property. Politics: Women need legal framework to fully participate – INEC Tamara also expressed their readiness to sustain the peaceful coexistence enjoyed among residents of the state, by supporting the Akeredolu led-administration in community policing and providing relevant information to security agencies to aid their relentless clamp-down on hoodlums terrorizing the state.