Uche Usim, Abuja
Eleven years after the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) was created, a report, extracted from a 10-month research on the project, has advised the Federal Government against winding down the programme, as some of the objectives for which it was set up have not been realised.
On that note, the report inferred that ending the programme abruptly was an express invitation to anarchy as armed militants from the Niger-Delta region will likely resume ferocious attacks on oil installations, thereby disrupting crude oil production, suffocating the economy and ultimately threatening national security.
The research, carried out by Nextier Security Peace and Development (SPD), to review the PAP, however, recommended the devolution of the programme to Oil State Development Commission to handle.
Speaking at the unveiling of the report in Abuja Tuesday, Mr Ndubuisi Nwokolo of Nextier SPD said that a 10-man committee looked at a four-prong transition options, since many insist that the programme, which has gulped over N500 since inception, has outlived the five-year lifespan hitherto earmarked for it.
Having advised against abrupt closure of the programme, the next option the report noted, was the devolution of PAP to federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
However, the report reckoned that if not properly managed, it may lead to diffusion and clogging the MDAs with more responsibilities when they have not successfully delivered on their original mandate.
Another option was to transform PAP into an autonomous youth programme, but advised that this strategy must address all concerns in all communities, especially underdevelopment and not just focussing on the youth empowerment.
The report finally settled for devolving PAP to State Oil Development Commission where it can divest powers from the center and make the agencies of states more accountable, with more local ownership and supervision.
This option is expected to increase the derivation allocation to states from PAP resources, conduct comprehensive audit and handover of PAP activities and resources to States development agencies.
Nwokolo noted that the team conducted an institutional assessment of PAP in order to determine areas where it has been successful.
“It highlighted key issues that were hampering its success and developed actionable recommendations that will be able to address the key issues of the Niger-Delta region more effectively”, he said.
Harping on the justification for transition, Nwokolo explained that the programme, which gulps N5.5 billion monthly, has become an albatross on the government, yet the golden objective of getting the ex-agitators regular paid employment, has not realised.
He noted that PAP has continued to pay them N65,000 monthly, even after their training, indicating that the programme design may be fundamentally flawed and robbed of room to achieve its objectives.
“Since inception, it has been marred by corruption, lack of transparency and elite capture. It is estimated that the programme has gulped more than N500 billion from 2009 till date.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Patrick Okigbo, Principal Partner of Nextier, said there was an urgent need to rebuild the Nigerian economy by further developing the oil and gas sector.
“Today, we’re 202 million people but by 2050, we will have 500 million running around this space.
“What will drive the growth of the economy is crude oil and gas. It will help drive the growth of other areas”, he said.
In his goodwill message, Mr Henry Nwawuba, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Niger Delta Affairs said addressing Niger-Delta issues needs a broad-based stakeholder engagement.
“We need to go back to the people and see what we can do going forward. These militants have our phone numbers and show up in our offices.
“We need to sit down and talk. Yes, the exit date has elapsed, but we need deep and robust engagement to avoid getting back to where we were years ago. We need more funding allocated for capacity development.
I’ll be part of the conversation of course”, he stated.