Abuja—The Presidential Amnesty Program Vendors Union has called on the Federal Government to increase the PAP’s budgetary allocation for it to effectively run its affairs.
The vendors made the call in a statement by its Secretary, Barr. Etifa Jonathan at a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The union stated that the increment is necessary given that since 2009 when the programme was established by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration there has not been an upward review or increment of its budget.
The group further argued that with the Naira free fall against the dollar over this time, it is only fitting that the federal government increases the budgetary allocation of the PAP to enable the agency to carry out its mandate and objectives which the group argued is responsible for the relative peace experienced in the Niger Delta region today.
“Our main intention for this press briefing is to call for increased funding for the PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME. It is no longer news that in the Year 2009, our then President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua granted Amnesty to ex-agitators of the Niger Delta Region.
“That is to say the Presidential Amnesty Programme has been in existence for 14 years. Over these years the Programme has recorded many successes although not without its challenges. The Programme has brought relative peace to the Niger Delta Region and Nigeria has recorded a significant increase in the output of crude oil and gas exploration activities.
“As you all know, the PAP is a DDR Programme and is in the Reintegration Phase. That is to say, there have previously been successful Disarmament and Demobilise.
“Nonetheless, as earlier mentioned the Programme has had its fair share of challenges, which have mostly bothered around the availability of funds to drive the mission and vision of the PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME.
“It is worthy of note that since the inception of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, the budget allocated to running the programme has remained the same.
“However, as we would all agree, the value of the Naira has significantly reduced since 2009. In 2009, the dollar to Naira exchange rate was about 145 Naira to a dollar, while today it has increased by over 700%. That is to say, as regards its budget, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has become poorer despite the harsh economic realities being faced in its quest for success.
“This technical downsize of the PAP budget has become an impediment to the smooth running of the program and a clog in the wheel of its success.
“This is so because the PAP is in the Reintegration phase and this is the most expensive phase to administer as it involves building human capacity and repositioning ex-agitators for peaceful and sustainable livelihood. This is a sensitive phase of the program as it will define the overall success or failure of the programme.
“For instance, to ensure the ex-agitators and impacted communities are well trained and prepared with a pathway for self-sufficiency, the PAP over time engages her beneficiaries in onshore and offshore training, be it vocational or education.
“These require funding, but the constraint of budget size has been a challenge for all leadership. As earlier mentioned the effect of devalued Naira has created an even bigger challenge to the Programme as the programme currently spends approximately 5 times more of its scarce resources per offshore training than it did in the past,” the statement partly read.
The group also bemoaned the instability in the leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, stating that “it is a worrisome trend that has technically hindered the performance of the leadership of the PAP and significantly distorted PAP towards its smooth running with the aims of delivering on its mandate.”
It recalled that in the past eight years, the PAP has had five different leaders and made the point that the instability has somewhat destabilized the successful running of the programme and hindered the progress of the region.
The group therefore also called on the Federal government to make the leadership appointment of the Amnesty Programme on a “sufficient tenure basis” and equally clamoured for the tenure elongation of the current Interim administrator, Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd).
The group opined that the elongation of Ndiomu’s tenure will enable him to completely execute some of the programs he has initiated, adding that anything to the contrary is detrimental to the progress of the PAP.
The statement further read;
“Again, as a union, we frown at this trend, as it sets the Programme aback. The PAP is a special programme and its management requires in-depth knowledge that is mostly obtained with experience.
“Again, it is the opinion of the union that to get it right and ensure the success of the Programme the leadership must have a definite tenure for leadership that is appropriate to tackle the challenges and yield desired dividends to the Niger Delta People and Nigeria at large.
“This instability in leadership has to a large extent destabilized the program and hindered the progress of the Niger Delta.
“For example, take a look at the educational Scholarship scheme done by the PAP and you will see a negative trend that can be directly associated with the instability in leadership of the PAP. Usually when a new administrator is employed, he takes a while to acclimatize and understand the workings of the PAP, after which he begins to roll out Programmes in line with the mandate of the programme.
“This is exactly the case with the scholarship program, it is on record that mostly, there is no Educational Scholarship Deployment in their first year in office as they settle in. From the second year, they begin deployment.
“This amounts to a waste of academic years for the people of the Niger Delta who depend largely on the PAP to further their education. To mention but a few.
“As a Union, we use this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to ensure that the appointments of the Leadership are done on a sufficient tenure basis going forward. This will ensure leadership stability and will help yield the dividends for which the PAP was formed.
“In line with the above as a Union, we hereby call for the FGN to elongate the tenure of Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu as he has spent just over 1 year in office and his removal will continue the negative trends we have mentioned. Already he is in his second year and has understood the Programme and also is in the process of deploying Students on Scholarship for the 2024/2025 academic session.
“Any attempt to destabilize the current leadership is an attempt to further destabilize the Niger Delta Region.
“As vendors, we are unpaid for contracts executed for many many years, this is also due to the instability in leadership, as every leadership issues new contracts in line with their vision, while existing contracts are mostly discontinued.
“The detriment of leadership instability over the years has become cancerous to the survival of PAP.”
