Senator Nwaoboshi raises alarm over FG’s alleged refusal to pay 30,000 ex-militants five months allow
Senator representing Delta North,Peter Nwaoboshi , on Thursday raised alarm over the growing tensions in the Niger Delta region, following the alleged refusal of Federal Government to offset five months allowances owned 30,000 ex-militants.
Nwaoboshi raised the alarm while presenting a motion he tagged “Monumental Challenges facing the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) due to paucity of funds” during plenary on the floor of the Upper Legislative Chambers.
Speaking on the motion, the lawmaker said he was worried over the monumental challenges facing the Presidential Amnesty Progamme due to paucity of funds to run the programme.
According to Nwaoboshi, “The Amnesty Programme was conceived by the Federal Government of Nigeria to stem the tide of disaffection, agitation and militancy in the Niger Delta Area, which resulted in loss of lives, properties and oil revenue and the result of the programme has been quite encouraging.
“Funds appropriated for the programme have been depreciating steadily, leading to adverse impact on the operation of the programme as tension is already building up in the Niger Delta region.
“About 30,000 beneficiaries of N65,000.00 monthly allowance are being owed five months in arrears and on the education programme (onshore) the debt to Universities in the Country is the sum of N1,873,044,700.00 in addition to backlog of unpaid in-Training Allowance amounting to N830,500.00, while Educational Programme (Offshore) is suffering the same fate as unpaid in-Training allowances for 750 students between 2016 and 2017 amounted to US$4,200,000.00 equivalent of N1,332,000,000.00 and unpaid tuition fee for 350 students amounting to the sum of US$17,500,000.00 equivalent of N512,500,000.00.
“In 2016, the vocational training unit projected to train 1,770 due to lack of fund and worst still, many people are pressurizing to be included in the Amnesty Programme, failure for which they are threatening to go back into agitation and militancy, which they have earlier renounced.
“About 70 per cent of the 637 students in various institutions in 27 countries who are expected to graduate at the end of the 2016/2017 academic year may not be able to do so for non-payment of tuition fees and currently, more than 80% have been excluded from studies and if the tuition fees are not promptly settled, this may lead to their repeat of the whole academic session, thus compounding the financial burden, moreover, about 100 graduates are currently stranded in the United States of America, Malaysia, United Kingdom and South Africa, awaiting their October, 2016 to January, 2017 allowances to enable them settle their bills and return back to Nigeria.
“Students in the United Kingdom have planned to protest at the Nigerian High Commission any moment for non-payment of the tuition fees and allowances by the Amnesty Office and if the protest is carried out, it will definitely bring Nigeria to ridicule and opprobrium before the comity of nations.
“The fund appropriated in the 2016 Appropriation was about N20 Billion and the Senate was magnanimous in appropriating the sum of N35 Billion in 3 Supplementary Appropriation in late 2016, which went a long way in improving the funds appropriated for the programme, whereby the sum of N40 Billion has so far been released by the Federal Ministry of Finance, leaving a balance of the sum of N15 Billion.
“The situation is becoming very serious and capable of truncating the lofty programme as tension and threats are already palpable in the Niger Delta Region amongst the beneficiaries of the programme onshore and offshore, which is capable of bringing the Federal Republic of Nigeria into disrepute nationally and internationally and this has to be checked promptly;
“The programme is in dire need of funds and it is absolutely necessary to release the balance sum of N15 Billion in the 2016 Appropriation Act so as to provide funds for the smooth running of the amnesty programme.”
