Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), has vowed to get to the roots of complaints arising from the resumption of payment of stipends to former Niger Delta agitators and beneficiaries of the programme.
The PAP Coordinator in a statement by the Head of Media and Communication, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, expressed displeasure over reports of complicity of some banks in the alleged short-changing of some of the beneficiaries by their leaders.
The Amnesty Office, last Friday, commenced payment of the outstanding stipends of the former agitators. But the exercise has been trailed by allegations bordering on shortchanging of some of the former agitators, who claimed they did not receive the full amount of N65,000.
Some of them were said to have besieged the banks they accused of complicity in the alleged racket to underpay them.
“The banks involved in payment of the stipends should credit accounts of beneficiaries with their due entitlements and strictly in conformity with the mandates of the account. No bank should be involved in any form of cash payments or conduct any irregular payment activities outside their premises,” the coordinator said.
Following this development, the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta has opened channels of communication with the Central Bank of Nigeria and its banking supervision department and the security agencies to review the payment process.
“It is not going to be business as usual. We are guided by the strict regime of transparency, accountability and prudence being enthroned by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. We will accordingly address every complaint about the programme on their merit and make the necessary adjustments. A verification committee is already in place to examine all immediate and pressing issues inhibiting the smooth operation of the programme.
“Mr. President is committed to sustainable development of the Niger Delta and we have a duty to ensure the sustenance of peace and security of the region in order to achieve the government’s objective.
“I therefore urge all beneficiaries in the programme to be law-abiding and forward their complaints with details to the office. However, any beneficiary who violates the rules governing the programme would have his allowance stopped,” Boroh warned.
He noted that because of the strategic place of the Niger Delta, there was need to ensure justice, peace and security in the region at all times.
The coordinator added that it was significant that President Buhari had approved the commencement of the environmental remediation and clean-up of Ogoniland.
He said this was a commendable initiative by the President and that the PAP would as part of its mandate train Niger Delta youths, with emphasis on Ogoni youths, to effectively participate in the clean-up process.
