No fewer than 30,000 militants from the Niger Delta have been trained on various disciplines in the last four years.The Chairman, Amnesty Programme Committee, Mr Kingsley Kuku while speaking at the launching of a book entitled:" My Time in the Charging Cloud" writing by former National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) President, Mr Oludare Ogunlana, held at the Conference Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, on Thursday

disclosed they were those trained  since the commencement of the programme in 2009.

Kuku who was represented by Henry Ugbolue said a total number of 30,000 militants in Niger Delta have been trained, out of which 16,000 who cannot receive educational training had been empowered with vocational tools.

"This are people terrorising this region in the past and peace and orderliness has since returned back to Niger Delta. This militants are unemployed, unemployable and uneducated in the past, but now they have a means of livelihood" he said.

The Chairman of Amnesty noted that President Goodluck needs to be commended for this kind gesture, but instead, past leaders who have not contributed anything meaningful to the development of this country kept criticising him.

"Nigerians have forgotten where they are coming from as a nation and we need to be very vigilant. Former leaders are blaming Mr President and distracting him, what did they do when they were there?. We need people of pedigree to participate in our politics and guard against bad leaders," he said.

As 2015 general election approaches, Kuku urged all Nigerians to ensure that their votes count and to start mobilizing their family members to vote credible leaders for the interest of democracy.

In his remarks, the spokesperson, Pan-Yoruba socio- cultural and political

organisation, Afenifere Renewal Group, (ARG), Yinka Odumakin, called for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to solve the challenges rocking the country.He said SNC will create an atmosphere for all leaders from each ethnic groups to dialogue and find a lasting solution to the country's problem.

Odumakin urged all government at all levels to invest more into the educational sector in order to secure brighter future for the upcoming generation of leaders.