Presidential Amnesty Programme Owes Contractors N71.4bn, Coordinator Reveals

Contractors working for the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta are owed over N71.4billion in debts.

The Interim Administrator of the programme, Col. Milland Dikio (retd.), disclosed this in Abuja on Friday.

Dikio spoke with State House Correspondents shortly after emerging from a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House.

Recall that the amnesty programme, initiated by the late President Umar Yar’Adua, has the mandate to train and rehabilitate ex-agitators or militants, who championed resource control in the Niger Delta.

But, Dikio stated on Friday that the programme had lost its focus due largely to corruption over the years that had dragged it beyond the few years envisaged by the initiators for the programme to last.

He said as a result of the setbacks, the programme now owed contractors N71.4bn.

He explained, “Immediately after the disarmament phase, challenges including endemic corruption cropped in and derailed the programme.

“Lack of enough funds and corruption were blamed for impeding the effective operationalisation of the programme.

“Regrettably, the programme has now been running for 11 years without the desired benefits delivered to the ex-agitators. 

“Rather, the ex-agitator database was dishonestly corrupted, and several contracts were awarded in total disregard of need and procurement processes.

“Consequently, the programme is currently owing contractors the sum of N71,411,646,210.68. This informed M President’s decision to overhaul the Programme aimed at ensuring that the dividends of the Amnesty Programme reaches its original target beneficiaries.”

The administrator recalled that the primary purpose of the programme was to change the lifestyle of the ex-agitators by giving them a sustainable means of livelihood such that they would become peaceful members of the larger society.

However, he expressed regrets that not much mileage had been attained in the core areas of demobilisation and reintegration of the ex-agitators.

Dikio spoke further, “Reports have shown that not much progress has been recorded in some aspects of the demobilisation and reintegration components of the programme. To address this, the need to focus on education and vocational training in ways that the benefits are channelled through a transparent, accountable, corrupt-free and institutionalised process is imperative. 

“The programme as currently structured is not sustainable and cannot deliver the desired long-term benefit to the region and the country.”

Recall that Buhari had in August, sacked Dikio’s predecessor, Prof Charles Dokubo, who was the Coordinator of the programme.

He gave not official reasons for his action.

The President had earlier in February, suspended Dokubo over alleged fraud and set up a committee to review the operations of the programme.

The National Security Adviser, Maj. – Gen. Babagana Munguno (retd.), who was also at the meeting with Buhari, noted that the programme had taken up other functions that were not in the original mandate, thereby clogging its progress.

He added, “The predatory instincts of certain individuals came into the fore and the programme was turned upside down and as a result of this, like the administrator has just said, there was a lot of corruption, waste, mismanagement within this period, N712bn was wasted basically unaccounted for and this is due to so many issues- corruption being at the fore. 

“Now we realised that if the focus of the people who are supposed to drive this programme is to capsize the programme by allowing their own personal interest to come in, then we are all going to be in trouble  because if the Niger Delta is in trouble and consequently it will extend to the rest of the federation.

“Therefore, I had to take this step to advise Mr President that this waste cannot go on, this programme is not supposed to be an open ended programme, there is no place on the surface of this earth where programmes that are supposed to be palliatory will continue forever, at the end of the day becoming a big problem and entanglement for the government.

“Therefore we decided to take immediate action by bringing in someone who can take a deep look at these programme, what resulted to it being flawed, a person with vast experience and we all know the experience of Col Dikio in this type of issue.”