The Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta on Tuesday explained why the payment of tuition and allowances of ex-militants currently benefiting from the Presidential Amnesty Programme have been delayed.
The spokesperson of the programme, Dan Alabrah, said those particularly affected by the delay were those ex-militants currently undergoing various courses of study in foreign institutions abroad.
Part of the delay, Mr. Alabrah explained, was a result of the order by the new Special Adviser to the President and PAP Coordinator, Paul Boroh, on assumption of office a month ago for the immediate suspension of payments until the verification of all pending claims was completed.
On assumption of office, Mr. Boroh had set up a committee to verify all claims arising from the outstanding stipends, allowances and tuition/training fees of beneficiaries in onshore and offshore educational institutions under the programme.
Although Mr. Alabrah said the payment of the outstanding stipends began a fortnight ago, beginning with the month of May 2015, the process to clear the backlog would continue till all outstanding payments to beneficiaries were paid.
On claims, the spokesperson said following the completion of the verification exercise, approval was given for the payment of all outstanding tuition and allowances of the 3,074 beneficiaries in onshore and offshore educational institutions.
“Already, the tuition fees and in-training allowances for May and June 2015 have already been paid to 1,620 of the beneficiaries in Nigerian institutions,” Mr. Alabrah said.
Similarly, he said approval and documentation process have been completed and sent to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the foreign exchange process to pay 1,454 beneficiaries in offshore institutions.
At the moment, he said the CBN was working with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, to process the required cash backing required to effect the necessary foreign exchange transaction for the offshore beneficiaries.
“This is in accordance with the strict implementation of the new directive on the Single Treasury Account (TSA) being operated by the Federal Government. Neither the Special Adviser, nor the Amnesty Office is unmindful of the hardship that the delay in remittance of the in-training allowances had occasioned on the delegates in foreign institutions,” he said.
To ensure that the payment was effected as soon as possible, Mr. Alabrah said the Coordinator of the programme has in the last one week been shuttling daily between the CBN and AGF’s office to ensure release of funds.
He described as incorrect insinuations that the Coordinator was not doing anything to resolve the issues and ameliorate the plight of the ex-militants in foreign institutions.
“The Special Adviser remains focused on delivering on his mandate. All beneficiaries and Niger Delta stakeholders are assured that the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari for the programme and the region will be effectively implemented,” he said.
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