Nigerian Government To Spend N195billion On Amnesty Programme In Three Years

This means that between the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, a total of N130 billion was expended on the programme aimed at rehabilitating ex-militants from the Niger Delta region.

A SaharaReporters' review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) of the Nigerian government for 2026–2028 has shown that a total of N195 billion is planned for the Presidential Amnesty Programme over the three-year period.

According to the breakdown, N65 billion is earmarked for 2026, another N65 billion for 2027, and N65 billion for 2028.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that a review of the Budget Performance Document for the fourth quarter of 2024 showed that the Nigerian government spent N65 billion on the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) during the 2024 fiscal year.

The same amount was also spent in 2023, the review revealed.

This means that between the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, a total of N130 billion was expended on the programme aimed at rehabilitating ex-militants from the Niger Delta region.

In November 2024, SaharaReporters also reported that a document by the Auditor-General of the Federation exposed a shocking withdrawal of over N6 billion without proper auditing processes.

The report revealed that tuition fees were paid to various universities for students under the PAP without adequate records of their identities.

It highlighted a blatant disregard for financial regulations, with N1.53 billion paid as tuition fees without supporting documents.

This, the report noted, constitutes a clear breach of Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, 2009, which states that payment should not be made for services not yet performed or goods not yet supplied.

Furthermore, the report revealed widespread violations of Paragraph 603(i) of the Financial Regulations, 2009, which requires vouchers to contain full particulars of each service, including dates, numbers, quantities, distances, and rates.

“The sum of N1,529,669,500 were paid to various universities as tuition fees for students under PAP and relevant supporting documents such as receipts, evidence of payments, admission letter, etc were not attached to the paid vouchers,” the report stated.

While attributing the irregularities to weaknesses in the internal control system at the PAP office in Abuja, the report noted that efforts to obtain explanations from the management of the PAP yielded no response.

In the same vein, the report disclosed that a total of N3.62 billion was raised without undergoing an internal audit check.

A further review of the report also showed that N29 million was granted as cash advances to officers of the programme for the procurement of goods and services, exceeding the approved advance limit of N200,000.

“Some officers were granted multiple advances without evidence of retiring previous advances granted them, contrary to the previous extant regulations,” the report added.

The report further noted that N87.7 million was paid for the purchase of various store items and that “there was no evidence provided to show that the items were taken on store ledger charge.”