House Directs Adeosun to Release N15bn Amnesty Funds

Urges immediate constitution of Customs board
James Emejo in Abuja
The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to release the balance of N15 billion contained in the 2016 Appropriation Act for the funding of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

It further mandated the Committee on Niger Delta Ministry to investigate the circumstances leading to funding constraints affecting the Amnesty Programme with a view to avoiding a reoccurrence and report back to the House within two weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Leo Ogor (Delta, PDP) on the need for intervention in the non-release of funds for the amnesty scheme.
Separately, the lawmakers further urged the Minister of Finance to urgently constitute the Board of the Nigeria Customs Service in a motion by Hon. Kingsley Chinda (Rivers, PDP).
It also mandated the Committee on Customs and Excise to ensure implementation and report back to the House in four week for further legislative action.

Meanwhile, Ogor, in his motion said there are monumental challenges facing the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) due to scarcity of funds arising from delayed and staggered release of funds from the 2016 Appropriation Act by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He said the situation has made it extremely difficult for the programme to meet its obligations to its workers and beneficiaries;

The House further noted that 30,000 beneficiaries who are paid a monthly allowance of N65,000 are being owed 5 months arrears while debt to Universities in the country under the Education Programmes (Onshore) totaled N1,873,044,700, coupled with a backlog of unpaid In-Training Allowances amounting to N830,500,000.

It said Educational Programme (Offshore) was suffering equal problems as unpaid In-Training Allowances for 750 students between 2016 and 2017 stood at $4,200,000 (equivalent of N1,332,000,000); and unpaid tuition fee for 350 students amounting to the sum of$17,500,000 (equivalent of N5,512,500,000.00).

The lawmakers were particularly concerned that 70 per cent of the 637 students in various institutions in 27 countries who are expected to graduate at the end of the 2016/2017 academic year may not be able to do so for non-payment of tuition fees, while currently, more than 80 per cent of them have been excluded from studies and risk repeating the whole academic session if the tuition fees are not settled urgently.

Meanwhile, the House is also concerned that were the anomaly in the non-composition of the NCSB was urgently addressed, the whole essence of the Act establishing the agency would be defeated.

It noted that the powers being exercised by the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Service Board to appoint, promote and exercise disciplinary control over staff of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are vested in the Board under Section 4 of the NCSB Act.

Essentially, the Act empowers the board to among other things, “subject to the general control of the Minister, control and manage the administration of the customs and excise laws, and collect the revenues of customs and excise and account for them in such manner as the minister shall, from time to time, direct.”