PAP Stipend Not Salary, Upward Review Calls Misguided – Ibena

The National Chairman of Phase Two of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), General Ibena Rufus Salvation, has said the monthly stipend paid to beneficiaries of the programme is a transitional allowance and not a salary, insisting that calls for its upward review are contrary to the objectives of the amnesty initiative.

Ibena explained that the monthly payment, officially known as the Transitional Safety Allowance (TSA), was designed to support ex-agitators during their reintegration into society after completing the disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation process.

Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, July 23, 2026, he urged beneficiaries to understand the original purpose of the programme, stressing that they were not civil servants and should not compare their stipends with workers’ salaries.

He argued that demands for an increase in the allowance ignored the global principles upon which similar reintegration programmes are based.

According to him, “Niger Delta ex-agitators calling for an increment or upward review of the amount, which has been magnanimously retained for the past 17 years, is overstretching our luck.”

Ibena said the current leadership of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, under its Administrator, Chief Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has shifted attention from dependence on stipends to education, human capital development and sustainable empowerment.

He disclosed that since the present administration assumed office in March 2024, about 8,500 Niger Delta youths have been admitted into more than 50 universities across Nigeria, while 247 beneficiaries are currently pursuing postgraduate studies in various universities in the United Kingdom under the PAP scholarship scheme.

“This is the unapologetic direction the programme is sailing towards. We are not going back to the dark days. We are using the opportunity of the Amnesty Programme to reshape and prepare the next generation to navigate our collective prosperity,” he said.

The Phase Two chairman maintained that education and skills acquisition remain more sustainable means of empowering beneficiaries than increasing monthly stipends.

He also stressed that the PAP Administrator has no constitutional authority to increase the stipend, noting that such a decision lies beyond the powers of the management of the programme.

“I am educating beneficiaries that stipends are not salaries and cannot be compared with the salaries of civil servants. Asking the Administrator to increase stipends is like asking him to introduce another phase of disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation, which is not possible.

“Only the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces has the constitutional authority to approve such a policy, and even then, it must pass through the necessary constitutional processes,” he said.

He urged beneficiaries to support the ongoing reforms in the programme rather than focus on demands for higher stipends.

The ex-agitator leader further criticised those advocating an upward review of the allowance, saying many of them were not properly informed about the objectives and operational framework of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“Those calling on the Administrator to increase stipend payments are not properly informed. Their position is borne out of ignorance of how the programme operates,” he added.

Ibena reaffirmed that the programme’s current emphasis on education, rehabilitation and economic empowerment would create lasting opportunities for beneficiaries and contribute to sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta.

He also commended the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, for what he described as his outstanding performance and clear understanding of the programme’s objectives and reassured the continued support and loyalty of the leadership and beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.