Buhari Bows, Orders CBN To Resume Payment of N65k Monthly Allowance To Ex-militants
President Muhammadu Buhari[/caption]
As part of wider efforts to restore normalcy to the troubled but rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resume payment of N65,000 per month to ex-militants.
Activities of militants in the regione has cut Nigeria’s oil output of 2.2million barrels per day to about 1.8million or more.
Disclosing the payment order, Piriye Kiyaramo, an officer in the government’s amnesty office, quoted by Reuters said the ex-militants were paid two-month arrears on Wednesday.
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“Two months of the ex-militants’ stipends were paid yesterday… the rest of their stipends will be paid later in batches by (central bank) CBN,” Kiyaramo said.
The payment was for August and September 2016, the officer said.
Before the resumption of payment, Buhari had slashed the allocation to the amnesty programme in the controversial 2016 budget, but he tripled the allocation in the 2017 budget following unrest and negotiations in the region.
“Provision has also been made in these estimates for activities that will foster a safe and conducive atmosphere for the pursuit of economic and social activities.
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“In this regard, the allocation for the Presidential Amnesty Programme has been increased to N65 billion in the 2017 Budget,” Buhari said in his 2017 speech presentation at the National Assembly on December 10, 2016.
