The Presidential Amnesty Office is being rocked by a raging controversy over N1.9 billion allegedly deducted from trainees of the amnesty programme.
It was learnt that the fresh controversy was triggered by complaints over deductions made from contracts executed under the erstwhile Train, Employ and Mentor, TIEM, programme initiated by the administration of immediate past Interim Administrator of Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col.Milland Dikio retd.
Under the TIEM, the beneficiaries of the programme were to be trained, employed and mentored to prevent them from straying after the programme.
It was gathered that when General Barry Ndiomu, retd, took over, there were 1,200 delegates in training which he stopped.
He was said to have conducted graduation for all of them as he was under instruction to bring the program he to an end.
The contracts were subsequently renegotiated and the reintegration department removed the ‘Employ and Mentor’ component, with a promise that the beneficiaries would be outrightly empowered.
It was gathered that the Integration Office deducted funds from the contracts and kept N1.9 billion meant to empower the delegates.
After waiting endlessly for the outright empowerment, the beneficiaries and office staff are raising the alarm that the N1.9 billion component deducted from the contracts had been diverted by the office.
A source who pleaded anonymity for fear of retribution, explained that “the following contractors were engaged to provide this service to beneficiaries.
They include Bradama International Skill Works Limited (400 delegates), Sunup Logistics Limited (200) delegates, Krisdera Agro Allied FArms, (200 delegates), Teecentenel Nigeria Limited (110), Betrieb Limited (50,) and Vika Farms Limited.
However, spokesperson for PAP, Freston Akpor, dismissed allegations of financial impropriety against the office as part of a baseless smear campaign.
He said: “PAP as a national security programme under General Ndiomu has been ethical and above board in discharging its mandate of ensuring peace and stability in the Niger Delta.
“The PAP calls on security agencies to arrest those spreading falsehoods to undermine the peace in the region.
“PAP will also not hesitate to bring charges against those who employ such falsehoods to defame the chief executive and hardworking staff of the programme.”
But some delegates under Krisdera Agro Allied Farms and Teecentennel Nigeria Limited who equally spoke off the record out of concern for their personal safety, accused PAP’s Head of Reintegration, of making the suspicious deductions.
It was further learnt that after renegotiating with the contractors, the funds in question were deducted from the initial contract sum thus substantially reducing what beneficiary’s were entitled to.
Officials from the PAP then went to the various training Centres to offer each delegate 750k to completely delist them from the Amnesty Programme entirely.
The delegates/ beneficiaries collectively rejected the offer. The office promised to get back to them all but have failed to do so ever since.
They claim the officer in charge of the Reintegration Office was responsible for the mastery around delay or disappearance of their Two Months In-Training Allowance which had earlier been paid by the Office to the contractor for onward disbursement to the beneficiaries.
Source: Vanguard
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