By Godswill Michael
Experts have called on the Federal Government to gradually phase out monthly stipends paid to former Niger Delta militants and redirect the funds toward long-term development projects, arguing that lasting peace can only be achieved through economic transformation rather than indefinite welfare payments.
The calls follow a recent report by Pointblanknews.com that the Federal Government disbursed N88.79 billion in monthly stipends to former militants under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) between 2018 and the first half of 2026.
Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Omenazu Jackson, said the continued expenditure on monthly stipends should provoke a national conversation on whether the amnesty programme has gradually evolved into a permanent welfare scheme instead of serving as a pathway to sustainable peace.
Jackson acknowledged that the programme has significantly reduced armed hostilities and helped restore oil production since its introduction in 2009. However, he argued that the underlying causes of the Niger Delta conflict—including environmental degradation, economic exclusion, youth unemployment and decades of perceived government neglect—remain largely unresolved.
He said the crisis should be viewed within the broader context of environmental injustice and economic marginalisation, rather than being seen solely through the lens of militancy.
“From our standpoint, many of those who took up the struggle were environmental and economic rights agitators whose actions emerged within a broader context of institutional failure. This is not an endorsement of violence, but a recognition that where legitimate grievances are ignored and peaceful channels for redress are ineffective, violent resistance often emerges as an unfortunate means of attracting national attention,” Jackson said.
He argued that government policy should move beyond paying monthly stipends to former agitators and instead address the structural conditions that fuelled the unrest.
According to him, although successive administrations have spent billions of naira on stipends, reintegration support, training and programme administration, many communities in the Niger Delta continue to grapple with environmental pollution, poor infrastructure, unemployment, inadequate healthcare and limited industrial development.
Jackson said the region could have experienced greater economic transformation if more resources had been invested in industrial parks, agro-processing facilities, modern fisheries and aquaculture, renewable energy projects, maritime infrastructure and environmental remediation.
He urged the Federal Government to gradually redirect spending from recurring stipends to industrialisation, environmental restoration and enterprise development across the Niger Delta.
He also advocated increased investment in agriculture, aquaculture, palm produce processing, cassava and rice value chains, cottage industries and vocational training linked directly to productive employment.
“The objective of public policy should not be to institutionalise compensation for past conflict, but to eliminate the conditions that breed future conflict,” Jackson said.
He added: “A nation secures peace not by paying for silence, but by investing in justice, productive enterprise and the dignity of its people.”
Also commenting on the issue, the Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Friday Udeh, warned that the Federal Government’s continued payment of multi-billion-naira annual stipends is fiscally unsustainable and risks creating long-term dependency.
While cautioning against an abrupt termination of the programme because of its potential security implications, Udeh said indefinite cash payments would entrench rent-seeking and place increasing pressure on public finances.
“Continuing the multi-billion-naira annual cash stipends to ex-militants institutionalises rent-seeking, normalises criminality by the government as a tool for state extraction and creates an unsustainable fiscal burden,” he said.
Udeh recommended that the government adopt a phased exit strategy that gradually winds down direct stipend payments while redirecting resources toward infrastructure and economic development in both the South-South and the North-East.
According to him, funds currently spent on recurring stipends should strengthen interventions through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC), while supporting local industries, expanding educational opportunities and creating sustainable jobs.
Although he acknowledged that the programme has helped suppress attacks on oil infrastructure and sustain crude oil production, Udeh described the peace achieved as “a fragile, transactional pause in hostilities,” arguing that the root causes of insecurity remain unresolved.
He further alleged that the programme has disproportionately benefited a small group of influential former militant leaders, while many communities continue to experience poverty and underdevelopment.
According to Udeh, lasting peace will depend on replacing recurring cash stipends with sustained investments in infrastructure, education, industrialisation, environmental restoration and accountable governance.
An analysis of records obtained from the Federal Government’s expenditure tracking platform, GovSpend, showed that the payments covered camps led by several former militant commanders, including Boyloaf and other recognised camp leaders. The records also showed that the National Assembly increased the programme’s allocation to N115 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, up from N65 billion in both 2024 and 2025.
The Federal Government established the Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2009 under the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua following years of militancy that disrupted oil production and damaged critical infrastructure across the Niger Delta. Under the programme, former militants who surrendered their weapons became eligible for monthly stipends, vocational training, educational scholarships and other reintegration support.
Nearly 17 years after its introduction, the programme continues to generate debate over whether public funds should remain committed to recurring stipend payments or be redirected toward sustainable economic development capable of addressing the root causes of conflict and securing lasting peace in the Niger Delta.