The Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM) has announced a skill acquisition programme for 150 ex-militants who surrendered their weapons in 2018 in Cross River State.
The Programme Coordinator of PRESCOM, Dickson Orji, who supervised the ex-militants yesterday in Calabar, disclosed that they were going to be trained on alternative livelihood packages.
Orji, who is also the National Project Officer for the ECOWAS-EU Small Arms Action in Nigeria, said the movement of the ex-militants marked another milestone in the implementation of the Nigerian component of the ECOWAS-EU Small Arms Actions.
”The gestation period of the skill acquisition varies from one to two months with a well-designed tailor made curriculum which have been dedicated to ensuring easy assimilation and entrepreneurship development of the beneficiaries.
“PRESCOM and the Leadership Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment Africa are currently implementing the Nigeria component of the ECOWAS-EU Small Arms Project.
“The project is an initiative of the ECOWAS Commission, funded by the European Union within the broader context of Disarmament and Community Development or Weapons for Development.
“The Nigeria component of the ECOWAS-EU Small Arms Action under the current pilot phase focuses in the seven states of Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Cross River and Akwa Ibom,” he said.
