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The Federal Government has released an additional N35Billion to step-up the Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria’s Presidency announced on Saturday.
This is beside the N20billion allocated for the Amnesty Programme in the 2016 budget. The funds allocated to the Niger Delta has now increased to N55billion with a recent release of additional N30B.
There is also a planned release of another N5B , the Presidency said. A statement released by the office of the Vice President in Abuja said this was in sustenance of the new understanding between the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta, the federal government.
The statement signed by the media aide to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, noted that currently the Amnesty Office has paid up all the backlog of stipends due to ex-militants up to the end of 2016.
The release of the additional funds is coming after presidential level interactive engagements in the Niger Delta, where the Buhari administration has 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.
Subsequently, the President asked his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, to embark on a tour of the region that saw him visiting several oil-producing States in the country.
Besides the monthly payment of about N65, 000 to N66,000 to the ex-militants, 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 & hazard allowances and vocational training costs.
There are also empowerment schemes and self-help, self-employment support funds, including provision of needed equipments by the Amnesty Office. Equally, the funds would also support the training of pilots, aviation engineers, technicians, and motor vehicles mechanics from the oil-producing communities.
The Buhari administration reassures the Niger Delta communities of its unalloyed commitment to a faithful implementation of its promises made during the FG 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, 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 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 as announced on Friday. Other announcements are to follow as each of the commitments of the FG to the Niger Delta oil-producing communities reach advanced and implementation stages, Akande said.
“Already there is an inter-ministerial group consisting of all relevant ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs of the FG, with the involvement of relevant State governments led by the Vice President that meets regularly to drive the different initiatives and ensure effective and ongoing implementation” he added.
