The Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), retired Maj.- Gen. Barry Ndiomu, has urged the Federal Government to consider making the programme a social intervention programme for Niger-Delta region.
Ndiomu made the appeal on Wednesday while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs led by the Chairman, Rep. Eugene Dibiagwu.
He said that making it a social intervention programme would ensure that the programmes, including monthly stipend payment to ex-agitators, which gulped about 50 per cent of the annual PAP budget, would be achieved promptly.
“The job security of staff of PAP who are not civil servants by design, should be considered while implementing our request.’’
Ndiomu, who gave a detailed account of activities since his assumption in office as the chief executive of PAP in September 2022, declared that the purse of the programme had been stretched to the limits due to the forex challenges.
He said that PAP’s annual budget was N65 billion; an amount that had remained constant while the value of the naira had continued to depreciate since he assumed office.
According to him, the situation is severely impacted the activities of the programme
Ndiomu requested the support of the National Assembly to have an increased budgetary allocation, as the cost of local and foreign education as well as other training schemes were exorbitant.
“We are in partnership with 18 universities and 61 non-partnering universities onshore as, 1,659 students have graduated from the offshore universities of the PAP scholarship scheme
“In all, more than 19,000 beneficiaries have been trained in PAP vocational skills.”
He said that he inherited a huge debt of N41 billion linked to projects in vocational trainings and empowerment programme executed from 2017 to 2019.
Ndiomu said there was another N14 billion debt from unpaid stipends to beneficiaries which he had since cleared.
“Also inherited were vocational training centers in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Ondo states, but unfortunately the only one which was completed and equipped at Boro Town-Kaiama in Bayelsa was vandalised and looted.”
The PAP boss said that the office would require about N10 billion to rehabilitate the looted training centre.
Dibiagwu assured that his committee members would interface with their colleagues to finding a common ground to address the funding gap in the amnesty programme.
“A representation will be made to the president and the Federal Government with a view to drawing the attention of the executive to consider an increase of PAP’s annual budget to reflect the present economic realities.’’
According to Dibiagwu, the committee’s visit was to interact with the interim administrator and his team on issues concerning PAP mandate, mission, vision, policies, programmes and projects.
He also said that the committee also wanted to know the impact of PAP activities on the ex-agitators who were the direct beneficiaries of the programme.
Dibiagwu said other areas of interest were achievements of PAP in intervention activities, prospects for the future and overall composition of management and staff.
“You have administered PAP soundly and some of the details we have requested for can help in channelling those legislative decisions towards any necessary amendment.
“We also suggest that the programme collaborates with other interventionist agencies in the Niger Delta for a greater benefit,” he added. (NAN)
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