The Federal Government spent N83.48 billion on the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) between January and September 2025, representing 96.8 per cent of the amount projected for the programme during the first nine months of the year, according to the Federal Government’s Budget Expenditure and Fiscal Account for the period.
The expenditure, recorded under recurrent non-debt spending, represents about 72.6 per cent of the N115 billion allocated to the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the full 2025 financial year.
Data from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Budget Office of the Federation showed that PAP had a nine-month budget provision of N86.25 billion based on quarterly extrapolation.
Of the projected amount, N83.48 billion was recorded as expenditure by the end of September, leaving only N2.77 billion of the nine-month provision unspent.
The programme recorded N20.98 billion in expenditure in the first quarter, N31.25 billion in the second quarter and another N31.25 billion in the third quarter, bringing its cumulative expenditure for the nine-month period to N83.48 billion.
In the first quarter, PAP exceeded its quarterly budget benchmark of N28.75 billion by N2.23 billion, representing an 8.7 per cent variance.
It subsequently recorded N31.25 billion against a quarterly provision of N28.75 billion in the second quarter, while the same N31.25 billion was spent in the third quarter.
The high level of execution under the Presidential Amnesty Programme stands in sharp contrast to the pace of capital expenditure by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) during the same period.
According to the fiscal account, capital expenditure by MDAs stood at just N17.71 billion as of September, against a nine-month target of N4.288 trillion.
This represented approximately 0.4 per cent execution of the MDAs’ nine-month capital expenditure target.
Similarly, MDAs’ overhead expenditure stood at N290.02 billion against a nine-month budget provision of N912.25 billion, while other service-wide votes recorded N115.57 billion against a nine-month target of N793.40 billion.
The figures place the Presidential Amnesty Programme among the areas with relatively high budget execution during the period, particularly when compared with capital projects being implemented by federal ministries, departments and agencies.
While PAP had utilised 96.8 per cent of its nine-month projected provision, federal MDAs had recorded only 0.4 per cent execution of their corresponding nine-month capital expenditure target.
The Presidential Amnesty Programme was established by the Federal Government as part of its response to militancy and unrest in the Niger Delta. Its activities include initiatives aimed at the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former militants, as well as training and other interventions.
The latest expenditure figures have renewed attention on the scale of public funds committed to the programme, particularly against the backdrop of concerns over government spending and the slow implementation of capital projects across the country.
Earlier, a review of the public payments portal, Govspend, by SaharaReporters showed that the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs spent N339 million on capacity-building training for stakeholders of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
According to the payment details, the transaction was made on June 19, 2026, by the “Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta”.
The payment description stated: “Being payment for conduct of capacity building training for 120 Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) stakeholders batch 3 held in Abuja from March 23rd.”
The payment is among transactions that have continued to draw attention to the spending pattern associated with the amnesty programme.
SaharaReporters had also previously reported that despite fiscal regulations discouraging the payment of government funds into private accounts, the Federal Government paid more than N2 billion into the personal accounts of four ex-militants, according to a review of transactions on the Govspend portal for the 2025 fiscal year.
One of the beneficiaries identified in the transactions was ex-militant Odiki Jacob.
On February 27, 2025, N33.2 million was paid into his account. He subsequently received N31 million on March 18, 2025, followed by another N33.2 million on April 22.
The April 22 payment was described as “Being payment of march,2025 bulk stipends to camp leader of Ekpomopolo Tobi Camp phase 1, for 500 delegates as approved by the administrator.”
Odiki received another N32.5 million on May 15, 2025, and N32.5 million on June 25.
On July 25, he received N33.2 million, while another N33.2 million was transferred to his account on October 28.
A further N32.5 million was paid into his account on November 24, 2025.
In total, Odiki Jacob received N228.8 million in 2025, according to the Govspend transactions reviewed by SaharaReporters.
Another ex-militant, Harry Tonye Ikemenjeme, received N33.5 million on April 22, 2025.
Dasimaka Adokiye Sami was also listed among the beneficiaries, receiving N186.3 million on April 22, 2025.
The payment description stated: “Being payment of March, 2025, bulk stipend to the camp leader of Ateke camp phase 1, 2802 delegates as approved by the administrator.”
Before that transaction, Dasimaka had received N186.3 million on February 27, 2025, and another N173.7 million on March 18.
He subsequently received N182.1 million on May 15 and another N182.1 million on June 22.
On July 25, N186.3 million was transferred into his private account, while another N186.3 million was paid to him on October 28, 2025.
The transactions have raised questions about the administration and disbursement of funds under the Presidential Amnesty Programme, particularly the use of individual accounts for payments described as bulk stipends meant for groups of delegates.
The latest expenditure data also places the PAP spending pattern in the wider context of federal budget implementation, with the programme recording near-full execution of its projected nine-month provision while trillions of naira earmarked for capital projects remained largely unspent as of September 2025.