EFCC, ICPC NSA, others urged to probe N5.4billion monthly allocation to Niger Delta Amnesty office

Barry Tariye Ndiomu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the National Security Adviser (NSA), have been urged to look into how the N5.4 billion monthly allocation to the Presidential Amnesty Office is being spent.

A source close to The Guardian who spoke confidentially alleged massive fraud in the Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) under the leadership of General Barry Ndiomu.

He also urged the Federal Government to investigate the cooperative system of the Amnesty office.

According to him, the office removes N500million every month for a suspicious cooperative system, lamenting that workers of the office who have expressed concern over the running of the office have been sent back to the ministries and replaced with newly employed ones.

The sources claim that certain members of staff in the office of the Interim Administrator of the Amnesty Office are being paid huge amount for welfare.

The sources said heads of departments in the office receives N15million per month, while others get the N10million as monthly package.

He further stated that, aides of Ndiomu receive the same N10 million for welfare in the Federal Government Agency.

According to him, the directors of administration and audit who were posted from the office of Head of Service were dropped for retired civil servants because they raise concern over the curious financial deployments in the office.

He further revealed that the current Director of Finance (DFA) and the Head of Audit are both retired civil servants who have nothing to worry about their careers in the civil service.

He said that a new director of administration was deployed from the Head of Service but leadership of the Amnesty office prevented him from resuming effectively.

“All the functions of the Administration department were removed from the former Admin office and new department known as Head of Human Resources has been created for the former Head of Admin, Mrs Khalinat Balogun, a staff of NTA who is not from the mainstream civil service.” He added.

Shortly before the end of the Buhari administration, the then National Security Adviser, Gen Monguno made moves to shut down the Programme which was resisted by the leaders and people of the Niger Delta.

When Barry Ndiomu was appointed, he said he was at the PAP with a mandate to wind down the programme.

The situation and tension in the region made it impossible for him to abruptly bring the programme to an end.

There are serious concerns that the Amnesty Office has lost its importance under Ndiomu having been relieved of its key roles in the region.

The Interim Administrator has since stopped fresh deployment of students for the scholarship programme which endeared government to many in the region.

Ndiomu also put an end to the training or empowerment programmes of delegates in the region.

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