Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), the interim administrator of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), has said that the intervention has cost N1 trillion.
The PAP has enrolled more than 30,000 former agitators since its inception in 2009 under the late President Musa Yar’Adua.
Ndiomu met on Monday with traditional rulers from the South-South, led by HRM King Frank Okurakpo, to ask for their continued support.
The administrator claimed that the programme would have a more significant effect on its intended recipients due to his policies.
To keep the peace and stability Ndiomu hopes to see in the region, he said monarchs and other interested parties should be consulted.
“PAP is a national security programme, and considering the role of our monarchs in the Niger Delta, it is very important that you’re carried along with the new policies.
“This programme has already swallowed over a trillion naira. I personally believe that if we had properly directed the resources, a lot more could have been achieved,” he stated.
Ndiomu declared that he was trying to get former agitators to form cooperatives to help them become economically independent.
The retired general confirmed that 2,984 students are currently enrolled in postsecondary programmes.
Between 2015 and 2022, 121 graduates from all levels of the programme earned a first-class degree, and 2,881 students completed the programme overall.
There are 1,862 undergraduates, 362 graduate students, and 38 doctoral candidates. Fifty-three students are pursuing Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degrees at foreign institutions right now.