N74bn not enough for amnesty programme – Dokubo-Asari

Former President of the Ijaw Youth Council and Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, on Monday insisted that  the Federal Government’s  N74bn vote for  the rehabilitation and retraining  of the Niger Delta ex-militants  in the 2012 budget was  not enough.

In a statement, Dokubo-Asari  demanded that a 10-day oil production proceeds should be allocated  to the programme, since  the country’s  oil production had risen to 2.6 million barrels per day against 680, 000 before the amnesty programme was instituted by ex-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

According to him, the increase is  part of the gains of the amnesty programme.

 He said, “With all these gains, one expects that the operators of the amnesty project should have been encouraged and applauded. Instead, what we see is rebuke, recrimination and an attempt to scuttle the project by those who contribute next to nothing in the upkeep and maintenance of the Nigerian state but are now calling for a probe into the amnesty project.

“There is nothing wrong with  probing a government institution if it is not done out of malice.

“It is important to state that going by the 2012 budget passed by the National Assembly, the amnesty project budget is about N74bn annually. Which means that amnesty project budget for a year is far less than two days oil production.

“I believe that the resources allocated to the amnesty project is inadequate and cannot dig deep to satisfy the aspirations and yearnings of the people of the oil-bearing communities. I hereby suggest that for a new start, 10  days oil production proceeds, after removing cost of product and percentage proceeds due to joint ventures partners, should be allocated to the training and education of the people of the oil-bearing communities through the amnesty project.”

The ex-militant  alleged that the company of one of the allies of the  late Gen. Sani Abacha   offered oil operating licence on July 8, 1996  produces 400, 000 barrels of oil per day, meaning that the company makes  N2.3bn annually, despite the death of the owner.

“If a dead individual is raking N2.3bn in 365 days, why should N74bn be allocated to the amnesty project from resources gotten from underneath their soil?,” he said.

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