The ongoing review of the Presidential Amnesty Programme by the Federal Government is to institutionalise and refocus the programme for the benedits of its beneficiaries.
A statement yesterday by the spokesman of the programme, Murphy Ganagana, said while the programme had contributed to stability in the Niger Delta, there had been persistent calls by stakeholders for a review of the programme to achieve its objective of sustaining peace, security and human capital development in the region.
Ganagana said more than 10 years after its creation amid numerous petitions and allegations of corruption being investigated, available data pointed to a systemic problem with the programme structure which permittted abuse of processes.
He said the situation was in direct conflict with the Federal Government’s resolve to address the root causes of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta conflict that necessitated the Amnesty Programme.
According to him, in order to protect all beneficiaries and ensure that no one is left behind, the government is reviewing the propramme to make it work better for human capital and socio-economic development as well as empowerment of the region and its people.
He stated: “As the PAP works to review the programme, stakeholders from the region will play a critical role, and the guiding principle is mainstreaming and institutionalisation. There’s a clear commitment to reform the programme in such a way that the benefits are channeled through a transparent, accountable, corrupt-free and institutionalised process.
“The Amnesty Programme as structured does not deliver long term benefit to the targeted beneficiaries in the Niger Delta region and for a successful review of the programme, PAP will count on the support of all beneficiaries and stakeholders through the consultative processes already in place.”
