The Federal Government has suspended its earlier plans to terminate the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, for the Niger Deltan ex-agitators.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme was established by President Musa Yar’Adua’s administration in 2009 as part of the government’s measures to reduce militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
It was reported that 30,000 former militants had been enrolled into the programme with over 65 per cent of participants said to have been successfully reintegrated.
Despite reportedly gulping over N5 billion monthly, international development consulting firm, Nextier Security, Peace and Development said the PAP had failed to address the various challenges that necessitated its establishment.
The firm, in a report released in 2020, explained that the programme was taking a heavy toll on the revenue of the Federal Government, while rewarding militancy and aggressiveness in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Thus concerning the recent attempt by the FG to shut down the programme. The Interim Administrator, PAP, Maj-Gen Barry Ndiomu (retd), confirmed the government’s new position on Saturday, in a statement issued by the programme’s Media Consultant, Donu Kogbara
Ndiomu expressed gratitude to the FG for listening to his advice, adding that he had made it clear that critical stakeholders across the region were strongly opposed to the winding down of the PAP.
He added that all responsible stakeholders nevertheless support change and share his view that the programme needs to be totally refocused and restructured, noting that the government weighed the arguments presented to them, based on their merits, and decided to suspend the planned shutdown.
The statement said: “The Federal Government has heard the concerns of Niger Delta people and, with our best interests at heart, has decided to shelve an unwanted termination agenda and transform PAP into a more sanitized, transparent, efficient, robust and sustainable entity.
“The decision was taken after the feelings of stakeholders and people of the region were communicated to the government and proves that the Buhari’s administration will not do anything to jeopardize the peace in the Niger Delta.
“We call on all stakeholders to sustain the peace in the region and help the new administration reform, refocus and reposition the programme for optimum performance.”
