The House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Affairs is pushing for increased funding for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), citing a significant depreciation in the Programme’s budget value due to the naira’s decline against the dollar.

The committee members, led by Chairman Hon. Eugene Okechukwu Dibiagwu, expressed their concerns during a meeting with PAP’s Interim Administrator, Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd), in Abuja.

The committee acknowledged the challenges posed by the economic downturn on the program’s policies and activities and pledged to engage their colleagues to address the funding gap.

They plan to advocate for an increase in the annual budget of the PAP to reflect current economic realities.

Members of the committee commended General Ndiomu for his prudent management of resources and called for his designation as the substantive chief executive of the Programme.

They also urged closer collaboration between the PAP and the House Committee to tackle challenges facing the Programme effectively.

General Ndiomu provided an overview of the PAP’s activities since assuming office, highlighting the challenges posed by forex difficulties.

He emphasized the need for increased funding to sustain education and training schemes, noting that the PAP has trained over 19,000 beneficiaries in vocational skills.

Despite facing a N41 billion debt for projects and a N14 billion debt for unpaid stipends, General Ndiomu highlighted the Programme’s achievements, including the graduation of 1,659 students from offshore universities under the scholarship scheme. He also mentioned the PAP’s efforts in supporting entrepreneurship through the PAP Co-operative Society Limited (PACOSOL).

General Ndiomu appealed to the lawmakers to consider making the PAP a social intervention programme for the Niger Delta region and to address the job security of staff who are not civil servants.

Members of the committee assured that they would return soon for oversight functions to ensure the effective implementation of the PAP mandate.