Niger Delta Amnesty: Leadership Instability, Mandate Failure, and Program Future
The Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) has been undermined with maladministration and corruption allegations, thus largely failing to fulfill a number of its interim mandates improvement of the Niger Delta workforce, thus quelling unrest and unrest in the place.
Just as the response agencies in the Niger Delta are run by natives of the area, many stakeholders argue that the companies are in fact run from Abuja through a few efficient officers within the presidency. These appointees are mere stooges, far from being controlled by the upper echelon of government, that is far from the case.
For example, some insiders within the PAPs say most of the program managers are couriers in their Abuja masters, which affects their appointments, and these people are assigned after they stop playing ball. This, they insist, is responsible for the excessive number of employed and fired chefs, particularly over the past 10 years, with no recourse to affect such action on the effectiveness of the program or even those who must very own the program.
Until now, the federal government's plan to end the program has raised concerns, particularly among ex-agitators. In this regard, the Amnesty Office has also ceased granting scholarships to students from relevant groups, at the same time as its operations have been drastically reduced, so that the granting of agreements for new education programs brand new was discontinued. But all this can be reversed, with the current change of mind of the authorities.
According to the administrator at the time, Brigadier General. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), the federal government canceled the earlier plan to cut the program. Ndiomu, in an announcement with the help of his media consultant, Donu Kogbara, recommended that the authorities take note of the extensive competition in the plan, saying: "The federal government has heard the concerns of the humans of the Niger Delta and, with our fine pursuits to heart, has decided to set aside an unwanted layoff program and transform the PAP into a more sanitized, self-evident, efficient, solid and sustainable entity.
"Following extensive consultations with former agitators in the Niger Delta and the Following comments from the federal government, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been magnanimous in shelving the idea of ending the program. On the contrary, the president is determined to ensure that the program is redesigned to reap its authentic mandate.
“The program can be redesigned more closely to ensure that its initial mandate is absolutely achieved, resulting in a gradual and phased unwinding é quickly.
"The choice was made after the emotions of the stakeholders and those of the region had been communicated to the government and this proves that the Buhari administration will no longer do anything jeopardize the peace inside the Niger Delta. The authorities weighed the arguments presented, mainly on their merits, and decided to suspend the planned closure."
Ndiomu instructed the stakeholders to keep the peace in the place and help its leaders to reform, refocus and reposition the program for maximum overall performance.
Generally, the program could be considered to have succeeded in restoring relative peace to the place, with a few hiccups here and there , but in general the PAP has witnessed an excessive turnover of coordinators or whatever the government chooses to appoint them, which makes many wonder if the regulations that organize it provide for a term of office.
The amnesty program was continued with banana pills and Down syndrome centered on its management Some presidential officials consider the program, originally designed to culminate in 2015, to be true when he should have r completed his term, became a drainpipe for government assets; subsequently, their efforts to arrest him under modern leadership.
Presidency officials have expressed concern that the Amnesty Office, which had approximately 30,000 former agitators on its file initially , nevertheless operates with roughly the same variety after billions of naira have been spent on training and reintegration programs. Indeed, the National Security Advisor (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, reportedly said recently that more than 700 billion naira had been "wasted" under the program due to corruption and lack of transparency over the years; hence he advised the president to quit the PAP.
Monguno said, "N712 billion has been wasted, basically unaccounted for, and it is due to so many issues - corruption being at the forefront. It's supposed to be a very essential program for the federal government, but it has faced a crisis of transparency, consistency, and green control over resources.
" The original purpose of the program became rooted in the reality that people in the Niger Delta had struggled because of man-made problems. Many factors have occurred to catapult the entire program into further trouble which, at first, was not supposed to convey. This program is not meant to be an open-ended program; there is no no neighborhood on the ground of this earth in which programs that can be presumed to be palliative will hold forever.
"Since the program managers have decided to let their self-interest take precedence over the challenge, the waste must be reduced."
That changed when a new Program Coordinator, Colonel Millard Dixon Dikio (rtd) was appointed, who Monguno says had the pleasure of tackling the rot inside the regime, with effect from August 21, 2020. His term was renewed for another year in September, most conveniently for him to be sacked about a week later and replaced by Ndiomu.
Dikio's predecessor, Professor Charles Dokubo, was relieved of e his role as Response Time Coordinator following allegations of mismanagement brought against him.
Before Dokubo, he became Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), appointed July 28, 2015 to replace former President Goodluck Jonathan's special adviser on the Niger Delta and program coordinator, Kingsley Kuku. Kuku has been credited with quickly solving problems in the implementation of the program, consisting of free large compensation for ex-militants.
A source knowledgeable about the operation of the program said to the Guardian that those responsible for the program are changed at will after they stop playing ball or "deviate from their professional mandate", as their masters would put it, insisting that the program has become a cash cow for a few humans, mainly with connections within the Presidency.
He lamented the role of local natives in some of them, announcing that some of them ended up voluntarily equipping themselves for motives selfish and visit anytime to blackmail program helmsmen and are even used to orchestrate protests in preparation for the impending sacking of the heads.
But all other stakeholders acknowledged the lack of tr ansparence in jogging a few elements of the program, especially in the recruitment and the list of beneficiaries, with the connivance of a few former warlords, who at every opportunity, praise their boys, simply as names of natives not natives of the Niger Delta have watched their way through the beneficiary lists.
Even the payment of allowances, entitlements or school expenses of genuine beneficiaries are sometimes delayed, diverted or mismanaged, mainly for those from higher institutions to acquire knowledge domestically and abroad who are welcome to leave or drop out free of charge. Late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on June 25, 2009, has granted presidential amnesty (grace) to Niger Delta militants who have somehow engaged in militant sports and committed offenses inside the Niger Delta, after exp rhymed their will to surrender their weapons and renounce the armed struggle in the 60 days between August 6 and October 4, 2009.
About 10,000 militants had been targeted within the three levels of the program aimed at disarmament and demobilization, rehabilitation (training) and strategic implementation of the action plan towards the holistic development of the neighborhood. After the rehabilitation procedure, the ex-militants had to be reintegrated into their various communities through vocational training, formal schooling or the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in their country or abroad, depending on the activities, between six months and five years.
< On the implication that the program is not run directly from Abuja, perhaps by a cabal within the presidency, which decides who runs it, the member representing the federal constituency of Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/Opokuma of Bayelsa State in the House of Representatives, Professor Steve Azaiki, said that might be true, adding: "Now that the program has been transferred from the presidency to the office of the security adviser (NASO), one begins to wonder why this is so, because the program is not the best security issue; it has to do with welfare, humanitarian, employment, schooling, improvement, etc. It's not just an item anymore, so...
Just as the response agencies in the Niger Delta are run by natives of the area, many stakeholders argue that the companies are in fact run from Abuja through a few efficient officers within the presidency. These appointees are mere stooges, far from being controlled by the upper echelon of government, that is far from the case.
For example, some insiders within the PAPs say most of the program managers are couriers in their Abuja masters, which affects their appointments, and these people are assigned after they stop playing ball. This, they insist, is responsible for the excessive number of employed and fired chefs, particularly over the past 10 years, with no recourse to affect such action on the effectiveness of the program or even those who must very own the program.
Until now, the federal government's plan to end the program has raised concerns, particularly among ex-agitators. In this regard, the Amnesty Office has also ceased granting scholarships to students from relevant groups, at the same time as its operations have been drastically reduced, so that the granting of agreements for new education programs brand new was discontinued. But all this can be reversed, with the current change of mind of the authorities.
According to the administrator at the time, Brigadier General. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), the federal government canceled the earlier plan to cut the program. Ndiomu, in an announcement with the help of his media consultant, Donu Kogbara, recommended that the authorities take note of the extensive competition in the plan, saying: "The federal government has heard the concerns of the humans of the Niger Delta and, with our fine pursuits to heart, has decided to set aside an unwanted layoff program and transform the PAP into a more sanitized, self-evident, efficient, solid and sustainable entity.
"Following extensive consultations with former agitators in the Niger Delta and the Following comments from the federal government, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been magnanimous in shelving the idea of ending the program. On the contrary, the president is determined to ensure that the program is redesigned to reap its authentic mandate.
“The program can be redesigned more closely to ensure that its initial mandate is absolutely achieved, resulting in a gradual and phased unwinding é quickly.
"The choice was made after the emotions of the stakeholders and those of the region had been communicated to the government and this proves that the Buhari administration will no longer do anything jeopardize the peace inside the Niger Delta. The authorities weighed the arguments presented, mainly on their merits, and decided to suspend the planned closure."
Ndiomu instructed the stakeholders to keep the peace in the place and help its leaders to reform, refocus and reposition the program for maximum overall performance.
Generally, the program could be considered to have succeeded in restoring relative peace to the place, with a few hiccups here and there , but in general the PAP has witnessed an excessive turnover of coordinators or whatever the government chooses to appoint them, which makes many wonder if the regulations that organize it provide for a term of office.
The amnesty program was continued with banana pills and Down syndrome centered on its management Some presidential officials consider the program, originally designed to culminate in 2015, to be true when he should have r completed his term, became a drainpipe for government assets; subsequently, their efforts to arrest him under modern leadership.
Presidency officials have expressed concern that the Amnesty Office, which had approximately 30,000 former agitators on its file initially , nevertheless operates with roughly the same variety after billions of naira have been spent on training and reintegration programs. Indeed, the National Security Advisor (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, reportedly said recently that more than 700 billion naira had been "wasted" under the program due to corruption and lack of transparency over the years; hence he advised the president to quit the PAP.
Monguno said, "N712 billion has been wasted, basically unaccounted for, and it is due to so many issues - corruption being at the forefront. It's supposed to be a very essential program for the federal government, but it has faced a crisis of transparency, consistency, and green control over resources.
" The original purpose of the program became rooted in the reality that people in the Niger Delta had struggled because of man-made problems. Many factors have occurred to catapult the entire program into further trouble which, at first, was not supposed to convey. This program is not meant to be an open-ended program; there is no no neighborhood on the ground of this earth in which programs that can be presumed to be palliative will hold forever.
"Since the program managers have decided to let their self-interest take precedence over the challenge, the waste must be reduced."
That changed when a new Program Coordinator, Colonel Millard Dixon Dikio (rtd) was appointed, who Monguno says had the pleasure of tackling the rot inside the regime, with effect from August 21, 2020. His term was renewed for another year in September, most conveniently for him to be sacked about a week later and replaced by Ndiomu.
Dikio's predecessor, Professor Charles Dokubo, was relieved of e his role as Response Time Coordinator following allegations of mismanagement brought against him.
Before Dokubo, he became Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), appointed July 28, 2015 to replace former President Goodluck Jonathan's special adviser on the Niger Delta and program coordinator, Kingsley Kuku. Kuku has been credited with quickly solving problems in the implementation of the program, consisting of free large compensation for ex-militants.
A source knowledgeable about the operation of the program said to the Guardian that those responsible for the program are changed at will after they stop playing ball or "deviate from their professional mandate", as their masters would put it, insisting that the program has become a cash cow for a few humans, mainly with connections within the Presidency.
He lamented the role of local natives in some of them, announcing that some of them ended up voluntarily equipping themselves for motives selfish and visit anytime to blackmail program helmsmen and are even used to orchestrate protests in preparation for the impending sacking of the heads.
But all other stakeholders acknowledged the lack of tr ansparence in jogging a few elements of the program, especially in the recruitment and the list of beneficiaries, with the connivance of a few former warlords, who at every opportunity, praise their boys, simply as names of natives not natives of the Niger Delta have watched their way through the beneficiary lists.
Even the payment of allowances, entitlements or school expenses of genuine beneficiaries are sometimes delayed, diverted or mismanaged, mainly for those from higher institutions to acquire knowledge domestically and abroad who are welcome to leave or drop out free of charge. Late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on June 25, 2009, has granted presidential amnesty (grace) to Niger Delta militants who have somehow engaged in militant sports and committed offenses inside the Niger Delta, after exp rhymed their will to surrender their weapons and renounce the armed struggle in the 60 days between August 6 and October 4, 2009.
About 10,000 militants had been targeted within the three levels of the program aimed at disarmament and demobilization, rehabilitation (training) and strategic implementation of the action plan towards the holistic development of the neighborhood. After the rehabilitation procedure, the ex-militants had to be reintegrated into their various communities through vocational training, formal schooling or the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in their country or abroad, depending on the activities, between six months and five years.
< On the implication that the program is not run directly from Abuja, perhaps by a cabal within the presidency, which decides who runs it, the member representing the federal constituency of Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/Opokuma of Bayelsa State in the House of Representatives, Professor Steve Azaiki, said that might be true, adding: "Now that the program has been transferred from the presidency to the office of the security adviser (NASO), one begins to wonder why this is so, because the program is not the best security issue; it has to do with welfare, humanitarian, employment, schooling, improvement, etc. It's not just an item anymore, so...
The Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) has been undermined with maladministration and corruption allegations, thus largely failing to fulfill a number of its interim mandates improvement of the Niger Delta workforce, thus quelling unrest and unrest in the place.
Just as the response agencies in the Niger Delta are run by natives of the area, many stakeholders argue that the companies are in fact run from Abuja through a few efficient officers within the presidency. These appointees are mere stooges, far from being controlled by the upper echelon of government, that is far from the case.
For example, some insiders within the PAPs say most of the program managers are couriers in their Abuja masters, which affects their appointments, and these people are assigned after they stop playing ball. This, they insist, is responsible for the excessive number of employed and fired chefs, particularly over the past 10 years, with no recourse to affect such action on the effectiveness of the program or even those who must very own the program.
Until now, the federal government's plan to end the program has raised concerns, particularly among ex-agitators. In this regard, the Amnesty Office has also ceased granting scholarships to students from relevant groups, at the same time as its operations have been drastically reduced, so that the granting of agreements for new education programs brand new was discontinued. But all this can be reversed, with the current change of mind of the authorities.
According to the administrator at the time, Brigadier General. Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), the federal government canceled the earlier plan to cut the program. Ndiomu, in an announcement with the help of his media consultant, Donu Kogbara, recommended that the authorities take note of the extensive competition in the plan, saying: "The federal government has heard the concerns of the humans of the Niger Delta and, with our fine pursuits to heart, has decided to set aside an unwanted layoff program and transform the PAP into a more sanitized, self-evident, efficient, solid and sustainable entity.
"Following extensive consultations with former agitators in the Niger Delta and the Following comments from the federal government, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been magnanimous in shelving the idea of ending the program. On the contrary, the president is determined to ensure that the program is redesigned to reap its authentic mandate.
“The program can be redesigned more closely to ensure that its initial mandate is absolutely achieved, resulting in a gradual and phased unwinding é quickly.
"The choice was made after the emotions of the stakeholders and those of the region had been communicated to the government and this proves that the Buhari administration will no longer do anything jeopardize the peace inside the Niger Delta. The authorities weighed the arguments presented, mainly on their merits, and decided to suspend the planned closure."
Ndiomu instructed the stakeholders to keep the peace in the place and help its leaders to reform, refocus and reposition the program for maximum overall performance.
Generally, the program could be considered to have succeeded in restoring relative peace to the place, with a few hiccups here and there , but in general the PAP has witnessed an excessive turnover of coordinators or whatever the government chooses to appoint them, which makes many wonder if the regulations that organize it provide for a term of office.
The amnesty program was continued with banana pills and Down syndrome centered on its management Some presidential officials consider the program, originally designed to culminate in 2015, to be true when he should have r completed his term, became a drainpipe for government assets; subsequently, their efforts to arrest him under modern leadership.
Presidency officials have expressed concern that the Amnesty Office, which had approximately 30,000 former agitators on its file initially , nevertheless operates with roughly the same variety after billions of naira have been spent on training and reintegration programs. Indeed, the National Security Advisor (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, reportedly said recently that more than 700 billion naira had been "wasted" under the program due to corruption and lack of transparency over the years; hence he advised the president to quit the PAP.
Monguno said, "N712 billion has been wasted, basically unaccounted for, and it is due to so many issues - corruption being at the forefront. It's supposed to be a very essential program for the federal government, but it has faced a crisis of transparency, consistency, and green control over resources.
" The original purpose of the program became rooted in the reality that people in the Niger Delta had struggled because of man-made problems. Many factors have occurred to catapult the entire program into further trouble which, at first, was not supposed to convey. This program is not meant to be an open-ended program; there is no no neighborhood on the ground of this earth in which programs that can be presumed to be palliative will hold forever.
"Since the program managers have decided to let their self-interest take precedence over the challenge, the waste must be reduced."
That changed when a new Program Coordinator, Colonel Millard Dixon Dikio (rtd) was appointed, who Monguno says had the pleasure of tackling the rot inside the regime, with effect from August 21, 2020. His term was renewed for another year in September, most conveniently for him to be sacked about a week later and replaced by Ndiomu.
Dikio's predecessor, Professor Charles Dokubo, was relieved of e his role as Response Time Coordinator following allegations of mismanagement brought against him.
Before Dokubo, he became Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), appointed July 28, 2015 to replace former President Goodluck Jonathan's special adviser on the Niger Delta and program coordinator, Kingsley Kuku. Kuku has been credited with quickly solving problems in the implementation of the program, consisting of free large compensation for ex-militants.
A source knowledgeable about the operation of the program said to the Guardian that those responsible for the program are changed at will after they stop playing ball or "deviate from their professional mandate", as their masters would put it, insisting that the program has become a cash cow for a few humans, mainly with connections within the Presidency.
He lamented the role of local natives in some of them, announcing that some of them ended up voluntarily equipping themselves for motives selfish and visit anytime to blackmail program helmsmen and are even used to orchestrate protests in preparation for the impending sacking of the heads.
But all other stakeholders acknowledged the lack of tr ansparence in jogging a few elements of the program, especially in the recruitment and the list of beneficiaries, with the connivance of a few former warlords, who at every opportunity, praise their boys, simply as names of natives not natives of the Niger Delta have watched their way through the beneficiary lists.
Even the payment of allowances, entitlements or school expenses of genuine beneficiaries are sometimes delayed, diverted or mismanaged, mainly for those from higher institutions to acquire knowledge domestically and abroad who are welcome to leave or drop out free of charge. Late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on June 25, 2009, has granted presidential amnesty (grace) to Niger Delta militants who have somehow engaged in militant sports and committed offenses inside the Niger Delta, after exp rhymed their will to surrender their weapons and renounce the armed struggle in the 60 days between August 6 and October 4, 2009.
About 10,000 militants had been targeted within the three levels of the program aimed at disarmament and demobilization, rehabilitation (training) and strategic implementation of the action plan towards the holistic development of the neighborhood. After the rehabilitation procedure, the ex-militants had to be reintegrated into their various communities through vocational training, formal schooling or the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in their country or abroad, depending on the activities, between six months and five years.
< On the implication that the program is not run directly from Abuja, perhaps by a cabal within the presidency, which decides who runs it, the member representing the federal constituency of Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/Opokuma of Bayelsa State in the House of Representatives, Professor Steve Azaiki, said that might be true, adding: "Now that the program has been transferred from the presidency to the office of the security adviser (NASO), one begins to wonder why this is so, because the program is not the best security issue; it has to do with welfare, humanitarian, employment, schooling, improvement, etc. It's not just an item anymore, so...
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