N/Delta Amnesty gulps N243bn in 5 yrs - Report

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in the Niger Delta region is the most expensive of such globally, gulping N243 billion ($1.68bn) in five years, a report said.

A report on the Assessment of the PAP by the Nextier Security, Peace and Development (SPD) unveiled in Abuja on Tuesday revealed that funds were used in the implementation from 2010 to 2014.

The report stated that in 2017, the amnesty budget almost tripled, with an additional N30bn ($98.47 million) released and an extra N5bn reportedly added at a later date even as the annual budget was N20 billion until 2016.

“Like most bureaucratic institutions in the country, the PAP suffers from lack of transparency, consistency, and effective management of resources,” it stated.

However, the report said the programme has succeeded in improving the security situation in the region, putting more than 20,000 beneficiaries through various formal education and vocational training programmes.

Principal Partner of Nextier, Mr Patrick Okigbo, said the programme has ensured relative peace in the Niger Delta and ending the programme may have an adverse impact on the oil production in the Niger Delta.

The report also found that the programme has not done one quarter of what it should do in the region.

“The PAP has been hijacked by a few people, probably one or two few states in the Niger Delta,” he said.

An Adviser to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Charles Achodo, said the PAP has gone through phases, adding that oil production rose over the years on the account of the programme.

Achodo said emphasis should now be on the development of the region in the transition phase of the programme.