The interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Maj. Gen. Barry Ndiomu (retd.) has said that certain beneficiaries of the programme and ex-Niger Delta agitators have multiple accounts linked to their bank verification numbers (BVNs).
In total, he said 513 beneficiaries had 1370 accounts on the payment list linked to their BVNs.
This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesman for the interim administrator, Mr. Freston Akpor on Friday.
He also said other anomaly discovered was that a total of 2601 accounts were not linked to the BVNs.
“Further verification of the payment list revealed that certain beneficiaries had multiple accounts linked to their BVNs. In total, 513 beneficiaries had 1370 accounts on the payment list linked to their BVNs. Other anomalies were that of certain accounts not linked to their BVNs; this group had a total of 2601 accounts.
“To rectify those irregularities, a portal was created by PAP (stver.osapnd.gov.ng) for the affected beneficiaries to log in, and those with multiple accounts linked to their BVNs were to choose just one account in order to have their payments regularised.
“A total of 1,561 accounts have been cleared and paid in full to date and presently, multiple account fraud has been eradicated from the payment list”, he said.
Meanwhile, Akpor said the PAP was sponsoring 75 pilots and aircraft engineers to South Africa and France for type-rating as part of its aviation training scheme.
He said 35 of the delegates were pilots while 40 were billed for aircraft engineering.
He noted that enormous windows of employment opportunities had been provided by the programme for ex-agitators in the oil-rich Niger Delta region to thrive.
“Under Gen. Ndiomu, a total of 847 delegates are undergoing training in the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in various ICT specialised fields with certification in digital marketing, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, computer appreciation, search engine optimization as well as technical and computer writing,” Akpor said.
He said from vocational training centres, to opportunities in federal government agencies, and incentives for viable SMEs, the innovative ideas initiated by Ndiomu will guarantee the socio-economic sustainability of ex-agitators and the youth in the Niger Delta.
He said a major boost to that initiative was the launch of the PAP Cooperative Scheme with an initial sum of N1.5 billion as seed money with an additional N100 million fund to be solely managed by the ex-agitators.
“The cooperative scheme has an eminent jurist, Justice Francis Tabai, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as chair of the board with a team of experienced consultants to assist in nurturing the cooperative into fruition. This will create a conducive environment for small businesses to grow to become the catalyst for economic development in the Niger Delta,” he added.
On the vocational training centres designed to provide skills for the teeming youths in the region when completed, Akpor emphasised that the PAP had cleared monies owed to contractors to facilitate the completion of five vocational centres across the region.
“Relevant higher institutions of learning, training institutes and development partners have undertaken spot assessments to re-evaluate existing infrastructure, update software and service equipment, including those left at Boro Town after it was burgled, to bring the centres, including an additional one to be sited in Bayelsa, up to speed and eminent take-off. The management under General Ndiomu has also cleared all debts related to ongoing training schemes,” he maintained.
“The Presidential Amnesty Programme has gained a huge mileage from September last year through the initiatives introduced by General Ndiomu and his managerial acumen has impacted positively on the programme. Unfortunately, the lies and blackmail will not deter the Interim Administrator from doing what is right by the majority of ex-agitators and the people of the Niger Delta,” Akpor said.
