In sustenance of the new understanding between the Federal Government and the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has released additional N35billion to step-up the Amnesty Programme in the region.
Although the Federal Government had approved N20billion allocation for the Amnesty Programme in the 2016 budget, Buhari has now raised the funds, and as appropriated to N55billion, with a recent release of additional N30billion.
Sources in the Presidency confirmed that there is also a planned release of another N5billion later.
Speaking on the outstanding stipend for the ex-agitators, Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (rtd), confirmed that his Office has now paid up all ex-agitators’ backlog of the allowances up to the end of 2016.
Boroh added that with the additional release, the Federal Government has shown commitment to consolidate on the peace already achieved following the vice president’s recent visit to the oil-producing states and tailored engagements with critical stakeholders in the region.
It would be recalled that the release of the additional funds is coming after high-level presidential interactive engagements in the Niger Delta, where the Buhari administration enunciated a new vision for the oil-producing areas based on the presentation made by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), to the president when he received leaders and stakeholders from the region last November.
Following that parley, the president had directed Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to embark on a tour of the region, which saw him visiting virtually all oil-producing states in the Niger Delta region.
The Tide investigations show that besides the monthly payment of about N65, 000 to N66,000 to the ex-agitators, the funds would also go to the provision of reintegration activities under the Amnesty Programme, including payment of tuition fees for beneficiaries from Niger Delta, who are in post-secondary institutions at home and abroad, payment of in-training and hazard allowances, and vocational training costs.
Other areas include funding for empowerment schemes and self-help, self-employment support programmes, including provision of needed equipment by the Amnesty Office.
It will further support the training of pilots, aviation engineers, technicians, and motor vehicles mechanics from the oil-producing communities.
The Tide reports that the Federal Government had, reassured the Niger Delta communities of its unalloyed commitment to a faithful implementation of its promises made during the Federal Government interactive engagement visits by the vice president to different oil-producing communities.
Other promises made during the visits are currently at different stages of effective implementation, including the effective opening of the Maritime University, in Delta State, integration of illegal refiners under the concept of new modular refineries, resumption of all abandoned construction projects in the region, the Ogoni clean-up, and several others.
The Tide learnt that the Maritime University is now on course to be opened before the end of the year as the Presidency has already set the process in motion.
Already, the inter-ministerial group consisting of all relevant ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs of the Federal Government, with the involvement of relevant state governments led by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has intensified regular meetings to drive the different initiatives and ensure effective and ongoing implementation.