By Deborah Nnamdi, Port Harcourt
The Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) said it has made significant strides in Bayelsa, attracting over 150 repentant youths to renounce cultism, drug abuse, and other criminal activities.
The initiative, spearheaded by the program’s surveillance team, aims to sensitize and rehabilitate youths across the Niger Delta region.
It said the move was one of the ways to combat the rising tide of social vices in Bayelsa, necessitating the campaign against social vices.
The event, held in Yenagoa at the weekend, brought together leaders and members of various cult groups and security experts and transformed individuals who had previously been engaged in substance abuse and cultism.
According to Tony Bobo, Coordinator of the PAP surveillance team, the vision behind the initiative stems from the program’s administrator, Chief Denis Otuaro.
“Chief Otuaro recognized the urgent need to address the rampant cultism, drug abuse, and other criminal activities in Bayelsa State, as a major state in the Niger Delta, Bayelsa’s stability is crucial to the region’s overall well-being.”
“We want to engage our people, to make them understand that these vices will not benefit them or the community, by renewing their mindset, we can foster a safer, more prosperous environment for all.”
According to Bobo, the PAP in partnership with Youth Rescue International, has yielded a pioneering sensitization and rehabilitation program for youths involved in crime, pipeline vandalism, cultism, and drug abuse in the Niger Delta region.
Nature Dumale-Kiange, Founder and CEO of Youth Rescue International noted that the comprehensive program, tailored to address the region’s unique challenges, will Provide expert rehabilitation services to reorient the mindset of young people, as well as offer an open invitation for youths to seek help and reform.
“It will foster a culture of reason and focus among participants and empower youths to break free from criminal activities and substance abuse; our goal is to empower these young individuals to become productive, law-abiding citizens and contribute positively to their communities,” Dumale-Kiange said.
