Amnesty Programme Evacuates 27 Beneficiaries in Ghana

Twenty-seven beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme who completed a six-month training in automobile engineering at the Hyundai Automobile Centre in Koforidua, Eastern Region in Ghana on April 2, 2020, have been evacuated to Nigeria amid daunting challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday aboard an Air Peace chartered flight at about 2p.m. and were received by officials of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Amnesty Office.

In line with the protocols put in place by the Presidential Task Force for the 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.

The visibly elated Amnesty beneficiaries, who returned to the country after undergoing a comprehensive training in automobile assemblage, repairs and maintenance at the Hyundai Automobile Centre in Ghana, popularly known as the Hyundai Dream Centre, commended the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), for authorising their airlifting back to Nigeria.

Leader of the beneficiaries, Mr. Omieh Orlando, also thanked the chairman and members of the caretaker committee superintending over the Amnesty programme for facilitating the smooth evacuation process as well as President Muhammadu Buhari for the gesture and sustenance of the Amnesty programme in his determination to reposition the Niger Delta region.

The Managing Director of Esco and Jester Services Limited, the consultant for the training of the beneficiaries, Mr. Emmanuel Ifie, expressed joy over the evacuation exercise, which he said was a huge success. “The Amnesty programme caretaker committee has been remarkable and efficient in terms of the evacuation, which was timely. They consulted effectively and the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana was also helpful.”