- Gen Monguno Says Programme Has Been Capsized, Funds Unaccounted For
- FG Now Set To Refocus Programme To Its Original Mandate-Col Dixon Dikio
By Gbenga Abulude (Politics & General Desk)
The Interim Coordinator of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (retd) has said that the Presidential Amnesty Program as currently structured is not sustainable and cannot deliver the desired long-term benefits to the Niger Delta region and the country.
Col Dikio said the programme meant to train and rehabilitate ex-militants, has been derailed from its original focus by endemic corruption, adding that the federal government would refocus the Amnesty Program to enable it achieve its original mandate which focuses on development and security of the Niger Delta Region.
The programme coordinator, while in company of National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Munguno (retd), spoke to newsmen after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday behind closed-doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dikio noted that the Amnesty Programme which was set up by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was designed to last for about 3 years.
He said during the period, militants were to be disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into the civil society. He expressed regret that the Amnesty Programme has now entered its 11th year.
He added: “However, immediately after the disarmament phase, challenges including endemic corruption cropped in and derailed the programme. Lack of enough funds and corruption were blamed for impeding the effective operationalization of the programme.
“Regrettably, the Program has now been running for 11 years without the desired benefits delivered to the ex-agitators. Rather, the ex-agitator database was dishonestly corrupted, and several contracts were awarded in total disregard of need and procurement processes.
“Consequently, the program is currently owing contractors the sum of N71,411,646,210.68. This informed Mr. President’s decision to overhaul the Program aimed at ensuring that the dividends of the Amnesty Program reach its original target beneficiaries.”
Dikio said the Amnesty program would have achieved its success if ex-militants had changed from their previous lifestyles to engagements in sustainable livelihoods, and had become peaceful members of their communities and ultimately contributors to the nation’s economy.
The programme coordinator said, “Reports have shown that not much progress has been recorded in some aspects of the demobilization and reintegration components of the programme. To address this, the need to focus on education and vocational training in ways that the benefits are channeled through a transparent, accountable, corrupt-free, and institutionalized process is imperative.
“The program as currently structured is not sustainable and cannot deliver the desired long-term benefit to the region and the country. The objectives of the Federal Government is to refocus the Amnesty Program to its original mandate of development and security of the Niger Delta Region.”
Also speaking on the failure of the Amnesty Program, the NSA, Major-General Munguno who set up a drawdown committee to investigate corruption allegations by administrators of the program, said though the Program was set up to address problems facing the Niger Delta arising from environmental pollution, insecurity among others, stated that the Program has been subsumed in unrelated issues it was not intended for.
He said, “This Presidential Amnesty program (PAP) is supposed to be a very serious program for the federal government. The original intention of the programme was rooted in the fact that the people of the Niger Delta had been suffering adversely as a consequence of so many issues, ecological, security, and too many things.
“Bearing in mind the burden the region has been carrying in terms of the natural resources there. So the principal idea for setting up this programme was actually to look at issues of development and security. And when this program was set up 11, 12 years ago and I remember very clearly because when the program was initiated, I was Chief of Defence Intelligence and we thought that sticking to the original timeline, in three years the programme will end.
“That is the amnesty but in which the agitators would have been fully compensated, trained, they would have acquired all the necessary skills and then become more productive to the people of that region. Unfortunately, so many things happened. Three years became 11 years and now going to 12, this is because of the vicissitudes and vagaries of our society.
“A lot of things happen to catapult the whole programme into other issues that originally was not intended. The predatory instincts of certain individuals came to the fore and the program was turned upside down and as a result of this , the administrator has just said.
“There was a lot of corruption, waste, mismanagement within this period, N712 billion was wasted basically unaccounted for and this is due to so many issues- corruption being at the fore. Now we realized that if the focus of the people who are supposed to drive this program is to capsize the program by allowing their own personal interest to come in, then we are all going to be in trouble because if the Niger Delta is in trouble, definitely, it will extend to the rest of the federation.
“Therefore I had to take this step to advise Mr President that this waste cannot go on, this program is not supposed to be an open-ended program, there is no place on the surface of this earth where programmes that are supposed to be palliative will continue forever.
“So basically the endemic corruption that scuttled this program and frustrated the people of the Niger Delta is going to be addressed as soon as possible.”
Recall that The New Diplomat had in September, filed a report on the details of the interim report of the drawdown committee set up by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen Babagana Munguno (Rtd) to investigate allegations of corruption in the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).
The report revealed allegations of massive looting and misappropriation of public funds up to the tune of about N712 billion by successive Coordinators of the programme since 2011.
The findings of the report which covers about nine years ago following the amnesty deal for restive youths in the Niger Delta brokered in 2009 during late President Musa Yar’Adua’s administration, revealed alleged contract fraud, compromised database with illegal swapping of names of beneficiaries resulting in an over-bloated number of beneficiaries of the programme over- time , among other forms of fraudulent practices.
This and other infractions, it was gathered may have informed the presidency’s consideration of putting an end to the programme.
The New Diplomat checks indicate that Mr. Kingsley Kuku, General Paul Boroh and Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo who were the Coordinators of the PAP and Special Advisers to the President on Niger Delta Affairs between 2011-2015; 2015 -2018 and 2018 to 2020 respectively have been focus of the investigations.
The report’s findings hinted that Dokubo, and others indicted in the report may have been asked to refund misappropriation of the funds. The funds alleged to have been wasted during the period under review amounts to about N712 billion.
