THE PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME & IT’S EDUCATION PROGRAM: THE MYTHS, FALLACIES & FACTS.
24 NOVEMBER 2015 · PUBLIC
I was head of the Education Desk in the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), which is domiciled in the
Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, from January 7, 2013 till the first week of October 2015 when the intrigues became manifest. I transitioned into the new administration of the
programme basically to ‘handhold’ the new administration as is expected of me.
This was regardless of the shabby
manner staff and consultants in the Re-integration Department were treated.
Six months down the line, I remain the only former Staff whose salary and allowances are still being withheld.
The handholding was very essential as education timeline are universal and time specific. Inability to meet these timelines as managers brings untold hardship on the students either managed or sponsored by the office. The running of the PAP has its challenges (intrigues and
threats) that we lived with for these years. We were able to
manage this daily on the Education Desk, as daily contacts provided one an opportunity to explain oneself to the students either directly, through emails or telephone conversation. This window of communication has been curtailed thus the need to go public.
I am left with this option following recent death threats
from some of the students that were asked to leave the United Kingdom before the expiration of their programme due to nonpayment of their tuition fees (for a total of 184
of them ) in the 2014/15 session and particularly the
2015/2016 academic session.
Two classes of students are been removed from the United
Kingdom due to nonpayment of tuition fees as agreed with officials of the British High Commission - (i) Foundation students progressing to Year Two (2) Middle level & Final
year legacy students who were affected by new school rules that prevent them from carrying over courses and thus needed their visas extended by some months, and
(iii) Fresh students primed for deployment to the United
Kingdom. The same ugly situation is replicating itself in the United States in various universities where the office has sponsored students.
I also wish to address the deliberate misinformation that is being fed the students, graft agencies and the public about me. Thus far the following statements have been
made about me or put to me:
That the students do not exist and ghost names abound on the education programme.
That school fees and allowances are paid in cash to
students abroad to enable me and my team to steal the
proceeds.
Why are beneficiaries attending expensive schools in
America and not cheaper schools?
That the Kaplan United States Pathway Programme is my
vehicle to launder money and fraudulently enrich myself.
Why did we send too many students abroad?
That most of the students abroad are not academically
qualified to study abroad.
That I hid the tuition invoices of students thus
preventing the payment of their fees.
That the debts inherited from the previous
administration have made it impossible for payment of
their fees.
That I instigated Kaplan to send the 43 kids on its USPP/
CNAU programme to the USA in June 2015 without
authorization.
That these 43 kids under the Kaplan USPP do not deserve
to attend Ivy League schools in the United States and
thus should be sent to cheaper universities or be
returned to Nigeria.
CAMPAIGN OF CALUMNY BY SECRET REPORTERS :
The online publication is supposedly owned by one Mr.
Tega Sampson Oghenedoro (aka Fejiro Oliver), who
according to media reports was a former staff of the Nigeria
Television Authority and was arrested by the Department of
State Security for involvement in a case of blackmailing
the former Governor of Niger State, Aliyu Babangida. http://
www.cknnigeria.com/2014/09/why-we-arrested-online-
publisher-tega.html
The said publisher on behalf of his sponsors is bent on
defaming me and staff of the Education Unit by making
fabricated publications based purely on falsehood.
1. I quote a January 4, 2015 publication:
http://secretsreporter.com/index.php/2015/01/04/sex-
scandal-rocks-niger-delta-amnesty/
“The action of not paying is not unconnected with the
action of two ladies who work in the office and have become
the sex toys of some of the top staffers, including Eugene
Abels, the Head of Education desk, with only Mr.Oluremi
John exempted from these sex escapades. The two ladies, Ms
Timi and Oyanbo are alleged to warm the bed of Eugene and
others in order keep holding on to money meant for the
foreign students, which they control.”
The two ladies named here are married and I was their line
manager.
If I, a superior officer, could not access government funds as
I did not work in the Finance Department nor managed
cash, how can these ladies “hold on to allowances” meant
for students?
2. I quote a June 13, 2015 publication:
http://secretsreporter.com/index.php/2015/06/13/amnesty-
fraud-continues-how-kingsley-kuku-and-his-committee-
siphoned-cash-meant-for-ex-militants/
“The committee have (sic) signed for and collected the cash
meant for the ex-militants without paying them because they
see it as an avenue to divert the cash since a new
government has been put in place and much questions on
their activities may not be known.
“Those fingered in this fraud includes (sic) Mr. Kuku, Mr
Eugene Abels, Mrs. Oyanbo Owie and Timi (who allegedly
warmed the bed of Kuku) are the persons using the money
for their personal interest to the detriment of the ex-militants
and the purpose of the fund.’
The same spurious allegations were made here. Fees and
allowances are not paid in cash except when the 2014
budget was not passed until April 2014 and the office
through the Finance Department had to directly intervene to
save the students from hardship in February 2014.
There is no room to divert allowances meant for students as
they are remitted through regulatory channels to the
accounts of the schools and the students.
These idolaters without a whiff of human sympathy have
put the marriages of these ladies on the line.
3. I quote a October 30,2015 publication:
http://secretsreporter.com/index.php/2015/10/30/buhari-
abandons-ex-militants-on-amnesty-program-as-one-dies-
due-to-starvation-in-foreign-land/
“Mr Eugene Abels has been alleged to have diverted funds
meant for the payment of the ex-militants which he has
been making illegal deductions from their take home
allowances.
This publisher without finding out did not realize that I
no longer had access to the payment process went ahead
to make this spurious allegation.
“One of the ex-militants is reported to have died due to
starvation of no food and no medical care.”
This is another very insensitive attempt to play politics with
the demise of one of the best students on the programme
in Belarus.
The Late Mr. Udochi Ogbonnaya was married to a
Belarusian and had a child and was entitled to some rights
meant for citizens of that nation. The late student,
according to the autopsy report, died from complications
arising from a tropical ailment.
It is sad and surprising that because he was a very private
person, he kept his condition away from the office,
colleagues and family in Nigeria.
In 2014, the desk had intervened in the same Belarus for a
case of fibroid that required surgery and a case of
orthopedic care which cost the government thousands of
naira.
The desk had also intervened at points where the liabilities
of medical insurance end, and this had stretched from
cataract treatment, knee surgery, sickle cell conditions and
other ailments that are covered by medical insurance.
THE PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME AND EFCC :
These acts of misinformation and deliberate falsehood have
been extended to the anti-graft agencies.
I visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) on October 5, 2015 and was allowed to go on
administrative bail.
The next day, October 6, 2015, I went back to submit
documents about the programme but was detained over
an allegation that I lied to the Commission that my office
had written to them that they had sacked me. My bail was
revoked based on that allegation.
A copy of the said letter was not shown to me. Till date, the
Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger
Delta has not written to me nor even paid my wages and
allowances from May 2015.
My bail is secured by two sureties and my two passports
withheld. I have been made (the only staff) to report to the
EFCC daily since October 9 till date at great pains and cost.
I wish to put this on record that the financial transactions
that concern the Education desk borders on Tuition,
Allowances, Travel Allowances, Airline Tickets and visa-
related expenses.
I am not unmindful of the ‘sponsored’ petitions that flood
the various anti-graft agencies to distract them as it is
delightful to note how official documents are availed these
hired hands determined to demonize everybody who worked
in the Amnesty Office.
THE EDUCATION PROGRAMME:
Currently, there are 3,074 students in the educational
programme. 1,620 are studying in Nigerian universities
while the rest are in the United Kingdom, Russia, Belarus,
South Africa, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, Kenya, Gambia,
Benin, Grenada, United States, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden,
Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.
OUR DUTIES:
A total of 14 staff managed the 3,074 students in Nigeria
and abroad. This is an average of about one staff to 200
students.
We contact the students, collate documents, confirm these
documents, subject the beneficiaries to tests, prepare
them for visa interviews, place them in universities,
provide for their welfare and ensure compliance with laid
down academic targets and attendance.
THE ADMISSION PROCESS:
The admission of beneficiaries for educational training are
on two planks and must be duly approved by the Special
Adviser to the President on Niger Delta -
1. The ex-agitators that were demobilized in Obubra and
approved to pursue formal education.
2. Niger Delta youths admitted from the ‘Impacted
Community’ window. This presidential window was
created to facilitate effective community healing (As
complaints were rife among youths who did not bear
arms in the communities that they were been ignored by
the federal government despite suffering in the affected
in the communities).
The impacted community window was also to help the
region build a workforce that has today accessed the Ivy
League institutions of the world such as North Eastern
University Massachusetts, Kings College London, Royal
School of Surgeons Dublin, University of Rochester New
York,Robert Gordon University Scotland, University of
Liverpool,Liverpool just to name a few and they have
accessed courses ranging from the Medicine to Atomic
Science at various levels of study.
The Itsekiri beneficiaries are a positive example as the
leaders deliberately chose those to access foreign
education, the courses of study and the universities for their
indigenes.
PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS ABROAD:
The legacy students inherited prior to my taking over the
education desk are mostly in South Africa, Belarus,
Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.
As at January 2013, there were about 315 students in the
United Kingdom. Remnants of this pioneer group can be
found in Portsmouth, Anglia Ruskin, Plymouth, Glasgow
and Edinburgh universities.
Beneficiaries for studies abroad under my watch must meet
the educational criteria of the host country in terms of
paper qualification and must sit for tests as stipulated by the
host countries like IELTS and others.
Also we subject them to basic tests to ascertain that they
‘own’ the paper qualifications presented to the office.
ALLOWANCES AND STATUTORY FEES FOR STUDENTS:
All student-delegates (in school) in Nigeria are entitled
to the following :
Tuition and Accommodation
In-training Allowance: N70,000 monthly
Textbook Allowance: N20,000 per semester
Laptop (One-off)
Student-delegates (in school) abroad are entitled to:
Tuition, Accommodation, Health Insurance (depending
on the country)
Warm Clothing Allowance (One-off) - $500
In-training Allowance for Upkeep: £500 or $700/$500
(where the office pays for feeding and
accommodation) and £700 for Post-Graduate students in
the United Kingdom.
Accommodation Allowance: £500 or $500 (for those
outside the United Kingdom)
Laptop (One-off)
THE PAYMENT PROCESS:
The graphic expression of the payment process is as
follows:
For Bank Payment : Voucher-Payment -Mandate-
Form A-Documents (Admission letter, International
Passport, Invoice where applicable) direct remittance to the
Student or the University Account as the case may be.
THE ISSUES:
The University Pathway or Foundation Programmes:
The foundation programmes or Pathway programmes were
introduced in the western countries to prepare
international students who intended to study abroad.
These programmes were designed to address the gaps,
style, culture and content experienced in education in
developing nations and enable them cope with
contemporary western education and on completion of this
program, students spend only three years to attain Bachelor
degrees.
The average cost of this programme in the United Kingdom
for tuition and upkeep averaged £27,000 per student and
a lot of students were struggling to cope with it for
obvious reasons. The education desk sought and obtained
the approval of the Special Adviser for the localization of
the programme in order to save cost and ensure that only
very competent students were allowed to travel abroad on
completion of the programme.
A lot of preparations and consultations were embarked
upon by the desk until Kaplan International Colleges
approached the office to partner and participate in their
brand new United States Pathway Program designed for
Nigeria and China.
The former Special Adviser, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, opted for
the Kaplan programme when it was confirmed that it will
be monitored by the Unites States Embassy to ensure
compliance with the rules that govern education in the
United States.
This programme opened the difficult window for Niger Delta
youths to access Ivy League education in the United States .
Kaplan United States Pathway Programme :
The programme entails students studying for nine months in
Nigeria and then proceeding to the North Eastern
University in Boston to meet other students from various
parts of the world for a three-month Summer Bridge
programme, which begins in June and at the conclusion of
the programme in August they proceed to universities in the
Consortium of North American Universities (CNAU) based
on their grades. http://www.cnau-programs.com/univer...
The programme started in 2013 and this was formalized
through a Memorandum of Understanding endorsed by
the executive management team of Kaplan Inc. USA and
Hon. Kingsley Kuku as well as the Chief Legal Officer for the
office, Ms. Sweet Okundaye for the Office of the Special
Adviser to the President on Niger Delta.
The programme commenced with about 380 students in
2013 and this number was pruned down to 180 students
after a written test. At the end of the programme in August
2013, only 137 students made it to the United States while
the rest made it to schools in the United Kingdom.
The 2014-2015 session had 51 students. By May 2015, only
43 students were eligible to progress to the three-month
Summer Bridge programme at the North Eastern University,
Boston, which had June 10, 2015 as closing date for
admissions. The former Special Adviser directed Kaplan to
stand down on deploying these students to the United
States until a new substantive head had been appointed
for the office on the premise that the security nature of
the programme will cause the incoming government to
give it a priority.
The students were kept waiting until June 16, 2015 when
Kaplan in consideration of the welfare of the students
bore the expense of transporting the students to meet up
with the programme and pledging to bear all their expenses
until a substantive head was appointed for the office.
The likely reason for this was that the 31 credit units
acquired by the students would not be accepted by any
Nigerian university. Besides, they were not eligible for
direct entry and also did not sit for JAMB. The credit units
cannot be carried over to another year and if the students
don’t meet the Summer Bridge programme they would have
wasted the whole of 2015. Whether they proceeded to
Boston or not, the office will still be indebted to Kaplan
for unpaid tuition for the 2014/2015 session.
The current management has not shown a positive
disposition towards this action by Kaplan and has refused
to pay either the institution or the students any allowance
as at October 2015. The students are very likely to be
returned to the country. The reasons by the office for
nonpayment include deployment of the students without
authorization, expensive nature of the programme and
allegations that the program was fraught with fraud even
without any shred of evidence.
It is on record that the office has not paid Kaplan
International Colleges, Lagos, a dime for training 51
students in the 2014/2015 academic session, I wonder where
the fraud has emanated from to warrant such grave
allegations.
The way forward: That these kids be spared further trauma
and be fully funded by paying their tuition fees to the
universities they have progressed to and all their allowances
paid to them.
A visit to speak to them will also help them to feel very
Nigerian. Anything less will impugn on the image of the
country as they there are between the age of 16 and 20 years.
The Niger Delta region will appreciate President Muhammadu
Buhari for availing these kids Ivy League education that
will position them for the very competitive future.
BROOKSTONE SCHOOL, PORT HARCOURT:
The programme had 25 students from the office, who all
performed very well and even won prizes and acquired
admission into reputable universities in the United Kingdom.
In the light of the change in government, the students were
asked to sit for JAMB at the expense of the school and the
students excelled in the exams and also gained admissions
into very reputable Nigerian universities like the American
University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa State.
The refusal of the new administration to address this issue,
despite several reminders, has resulted in these students
missing both admissions as at September 29, 2015. The
exception will be for those who made private arrangements.
The way forward : I recommend that the kids on this
programme be scheduled to proceed to the United Kingdom in
the January 2016 window and this can only be achieved when
their tuition fees are fully paid on time .
DEBTS INHERITED ON THE EDUCATION PROGRAMME:
This has been a major excuse by the current administration
in the Amnesty Office has been responsible for the
challenges they are experiencing and has been responsible
for the problems the students are currently facing.
In the face of inheriting statutory allocations for May and
June 2015 in excess of N10billion, it will be proper to state
the facts as follows:
The office did not owe any of the 22 private and public
universities in Nigeria for tuition for the 2014/2015
academic session.
The inherited debt for the United Kingdom schools was
N285million for 184 students.
The inherited debt for schools in the United States was
N134million for 90 students.
The inherited debt for schools in East Europe and Asia
amounted to N62million for 55 students.
The debt to foundation schools in Nigeria were circa
N370million.
The Pro-forma invoice for the purchase of tickets for
graduated students amounted to N55 million.
Unpaid allowances for students for May and June 2015:
For students in Nigeria amounted to N230 million
monthly while for students abroad it was N565million
monthly as at when the new Special Adviser assumed
office.
The summation of these outstanding obligations was
circa N1.6bilion,
EDUCATION DESK PRIORITIES AS AT AUGUST 1, 2015 :
These priorities were based on the level of urgency
occasioned by the age of the invoices for Tuition fees or
welfare issues and the country-specific education timelines
for programmes.
United Kingdom:
The plan was to clear all tuition-related debt issues for 184
students with the British Embassy/UKBA before September
2015 to enable all prospective students meant for the
2015/2016 academic session obtain visas based on our
OSPAND Sponsorship letter.
Ensure that a meeting with the British High Commissioner
for the purpose of restoring the credit status of the Office of
the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and
bringing the new Coordinator/Special Advser up to speed on
the urgency of the matter.
Follow up with the office to provide proof of payment to the
United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) through the British
Embassy in Nigeria.
Provide new sponsorship letters to (a) progressing students
(b) all final year students with slight extensions (after
approval) to be able to renew their visas without returning
to Nigeria.
Compile and support with documents all approved
prospective students for study in the United Kingdom for
the 2015/16 session to be able to obtain visas in Nigeria.
Ensure no visa expires on any student in the UK to avoid a
10-year ban.
Rescue our stranded graduated students by providing them
with tickets to return to Nigeria on time and prevent their
visas expiring on them.
Payment of May and June 2015 allowances until more funds
are received.
United States:
Payment of outstanding fees for summer classes et.al
to the Consortium of North American Universities for the
existing students.
Payment of allowances to the 43 students taken to the USA
by Kaplan Int’l Colleges Lagos.
Payment of Tuition fees to Kaplan Int’l Colleges for the USPP
2014/2015 Programme.
Payment of all summer fees for other universities in the
United States like the Alabama State University with 38
students and the University of Birmingham, Alabama, for
tuition and accommodation for 21 students.
Prepare to receive invoices for spring term by September
2015.
Russia:
Appeal to the Russian Embassy and the Nigeria High
Commission in Moscow to verify the tuition invoices sent by
the students of People’s Friendship University, Moscow.
Arrange for a meeting through the foreign desk for the
Special Adviser to meet with the Russian Ambassador to
effect the rights of the students to have direct dealings with
the People’s Friendship University, Moscow and the
Southwest State University, Kursk.
Payment of May and June 2015 allowances.
Belarus:
Payment of tuition for the 2015/2016 session for the 53
students in four institutions.
Payment of May and June 2015 allowances
Obtain autopsy reports and conclude arrangements for the
repatriation and burial of the body of a deceased
student in Nigeria.
Nigeria:
Payment of May, June 2015 Allowances
Verification of over 1,200 applicants who scored 180 marks
in the Joint Matriculation Examinations for the purpose of
placing them in Nigerian universities when authorized by
the Special Adviser.
Placement of the graduates of the foundation programmes in
Nigeria in schools abroad or Nigeria as expected to be
directed by the Special Adviser.
Malaysia:
Seek approval and relocate 23 students from Nilai University
to Leeds Beckett University, Malaysia, as advised by the
Nigeria High Commission.
Provide Tickets for graduated students and six (6) expelled
students whose visas were running out.
Deal with the issue of detained students by the authorities.
What the Education Desk did :
It engaged the schools and students and kept them abreast of
issues all through the period of no substantive who could
authorize expenditure as a signatory to the office accounts.
On assumption of duty, Brig-General Paul Boroh (rtd) was
duly informed about the urgency to deal with the financial
situation of the education of the programme and their time
bound nature.
We went before the Gen. Boroh-constituted Verification
Committee headed by Dr. Ken Ehigie twice to defend the
financial commitments for the education desk, particularly
as it concerned payment of outstanding tuition and
allowances to students.
At the instance of the desk, meetings were programmed to
hold with the Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, USA
and Russia through the Head of Foreign Desk.
All attempts to make the Special Adviser write to the Central
Bank Governor to intervene in the provision of evidence of
payment of fees (Telex Advices) and submission to the UK
High Commission were rebuffed by him.
We also submitted to the EFCC, Board of Enquiry and
Boroh’s Data team the data of our students (Comprising of
Names, Passport details, school, course, start & finish dates)
for purposes of verification.
The desk ensured all payment memos and files were
properly endorsed and put before the Special Adviser.
Based on this, the allowances for May and June 2015 was
paid to all students. By third week of August 2015, all
documentation for the payment of July and August 2015
allowances had been laid before the Special Adviser.
The desk officers compiled the list of those who sat for
JAMB 2015 examinations and submitted same to the data
team for verification while the memos for deployment
were submitted for approval to the Special Adviser.
WHAT THE SPECIAL ADVISER & HIS TEAM SHOULD
HAVE DONE
The Special Adviser should have:
1. Directed the finance department on time to provide
evidence of payment to the schools in the United
Kingdom for 2014/2015 for submission to the British
Embassy.
2. Prevail on the Central Bank of Nigeria through its
Governor to give the payment of tuition priority over all
other payments.
3. Prevail on the Central Bank Governor to support in the
provision of evidence of recent remittance or payment
called Telex Advices or Debit Notes under the TSA regime
for submission to the British Embassy.
4. Payment of May and June 2015 allowances as at October
2015 to the 43 students on the Kaplan USPP to enable
them afford basic necessities.
5. Approve deployment plan for the 2015 /2016 academic
session for applicants who sat for JAMB after due
verification.
CONSEQUENCES OF NON-ADHERENCE TO ADVICE :
United Kingdom:
1. All final year students with expired visas who are to
graduate between December 2015 and June 2016 will not
meet this target.
2. All students whose visas expired due to the inability of
the office to provide them tickets will be banned for 10
years and refused entry into the United Kingdom to
conclude their studies or even attend their convocation.
3. Over 100 students must leave the United Kingdom before
the end of the year due to expired visas and refusal of
schools to support their visa applications due to the
inability of the office to meet the conditions of the British
Embassy.
United States:
1. The 137 students in the Consortium of North American
Universities in United States stand the risk of been
excluded from school if their fees are not paid as soon as
possible.
2. The refusal of the office to pay Kaplan International
Colleges and maligning the firm as corrupt might result
in the deportation of the 43 students, who are averagely
under 17 years.
3. The students in the University of Alabama, Birmingham,
face been thrown out of their accommodation due to non-
payment.
Nigeria:
1. The chances of all those primed for studies in Nigeria
are unlikely as the admission window has closed.
2. They will miss this academic year except a legal
extension is granted by JAMB.
3. Their JAMB results will become useless by next year.
THE WAY FORWARD:
1. A presidential directive to the Nigerian High
Commissions for all related sponsored students to go and
register their problems with the charge de affaires for
Education Counsel in the embassy.
2. This process can be supported by the Nigeria Intelligence
Agency desk heads in the affected high commissions
where there are Presidential Amnesty Programme
sponsored students.
3. The office to collate and properly inform the nation of
the problem and come out with a plan and timelines for
resolution of these problems instead of distorting and
misinforming the students and the public.
4. The office to prioritize and pay all outstanding fees in
the United Kingdom and the United States to enable the
students meet the January 2016 window.
5. Submission of all documents and addresses of finance
contact persons in the UK schools as agreed to the
British High Commission.
6. Convene a talk shop to sensitize the affected students
about the plan of the office in resolving these issues with
practical timelines.
7. Payment of my allowance and salaries for May, June,
July, August, September 2015 to date.
SUGGESTIONS FOR INVESTIGATION OF THE EDUCATION
DESK UNDER MY WATCH BY THE ECONOMIC &
FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION :
1. The EFCC/Office, if still in doubt of the existence of
students in universities abroad, should use the payment
files at its disposal and compare it with the list of
students submitted to them by the Education Desk and
then send these names (student ID, passport
number) to the embassies through our Ministry of
Foreign Affairs for verification.
2. The EFCC can submit these list of students on a country
by country basis to their embassies for confirmation
purposes such as the UK Embassy,US Embassy,Russian
Embassy et.al.
3. The fraud office in the United Kingdom and the Internal
Revenue Service in the United States can be petitioned to
see if any form of commission was paid to me.
4. The office before sending students out of the country
inform the following offices in writing and they include
:Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Service,
Office of the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian
missions abroad. These offices can be asked to submit
these documents for verification purposes.
The Kaplan Inc USSP program can be reported to the
Internal Revenue Service of the United States through our
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the allegations of
money laundry.
THE UNATTRACTIVE COST OF THE EDUCATION
PROGRAMME:
The Amnesty program has been saddled with a huge
financial burden associated with training Niger Delta
youths in top foreign universities in the world and it would
be escapist to jettison this programme because of the cost
or downgrade the students to cheaper schools.
Let these youths be determined by their capacities and
results as the future will be very competitive and only
excellence in education can become a foot-in-the-door for
the youths of the region.
My fear is occasioned by the absence of a clear plan for the
programme and the outright refusal to meet financial
obligations of the education desk despite expending more
than three or four months of statutory financial allocations
to the program.
WINDING DOWN OF THE PROGRAMME:
We are aware of the Presidential directive to wind down
the programme by December 31, 2015.
It will be appropriate if the current happenings are made
public to the stakeholders and students from the Niger
Delta and the Presidential Amnesty Office makes public a
deliberate winding down programme for the education
program with specific timelines.
In the light of the recent change in government and
perceptions in the Niger Delta region, my call for this
review is to prevent these anomalies stated herein to be
used by mischievous persons to misinform or misconstrue
the intentions of President Muhammadu Buhari
administration for the people of the Niger Delta region
under this program.
If these issues are dealt with as suggested, the programme
will by December 2015 graduated over 820 students from
the Niger Delta region.
God bless Nigeria!
Eugene Abels
Former Technical Personnel –Education & Desk Head of the
Education program Office of the Special Adviser to
the President on Niger Delta and Presidential Amnesty
Programme.
Read Futher:
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