The Federal Government has set aside a total of N195 billion for the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) between 2026 and 2028, according to the latest review of Nigeria’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
An analysis of the MTEF for the 2026–2028 period shows that N65 billion has been allocated to the programme for each of the three years—2026, 2027, and 2028—bringing the total planned spending to N195 billion. The Amnesty Programme was originally established to rehabilitate and reintegrate former militants from the Niger Delta region.
According to previous budget reports, the Federal Government spent N65 billion on the programme in the 2024 fiscal year, as revealed in the Budget Performance Document for the fourth quarter of 2024. The same amount was also disbursed in 2023, meaning a total of N130 billion was spent on the programme within those two fiscal years alone.
However, concerns have been raised about how funds under the programme are being managed. In November 2024, a report by the Auditor-General of the Federation revealed that more than N6 billion was withdrawn without proper auditing procedures.
The audit report stated that tuition fees were paid to several universities for PAP beneficiaries without adequate documentation to verify the identities of the students. It specifically noted that N1.53 billion was paid as tuition fees without supporting documents such as receipts, admission letters, or proof of payment.
According to the Auditor-General, “The sum of N1,529,669,500 was paid to various universities as tuition fees for students under PAP without attaching relevant supporting documents.” The report added that the action violated Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations, 2009, which prohibits payments for services not yet rendered or goods not yet supplied.
The report also cited breaches of Paragraph 603(i) of the same regulations, which requires payment vouchers to include full details of services rendered. It further highlighted that the irregularities were linked to weaknesses in the internal control system at the PAP office in Abuja.
The management of the programme reportedly failed to respond to requests for clarification on the issues raised.
Further findings indicated that N3.62 billion was raised without undergoing internal audit checks. Additionally, N29 million was issued as cash advances to officers for procurement purposes, far exceeding the approved limit of N200,000.
The report noted that some officials received multiple advances without retiring previous ones, which also breached existing financial regulations. It revealed that N87.7 million was spent on the purchase of store items, but there was no evidence that the items were properly recorded in store ledgers.
Despite these findings, the Federal Government continues to allocate significant funds to the Amnesty Programme for the coming years.
