Nigeria’s amnesty budget: 10 other things N66bn could pay for
1April 25, 2013 by ragbroko
This year Nigeria aims to spend N66.3bn on its pocket-money Presidential Amnesty Programme for ex-militants mainly in the oil-rich Niger-Delta region. About 35% of this sum (N23.6bn) will be spent on “stipends and allowances for 30,000 ex-militants,” the equivalent of N65, 625 per month or four times the national minimum wage, thank you very much.
The breakdown, as gotten from civic start-up Budgit is as follows:
| OPERATIONAL COST | N3,699,933,814 |
| REINTEGRATION OF TRANSFORMED EX-MILITANTS | N38,409,859,972 |
| REINSERTION/TRANSITION SAFETY ALLOWANCES FOR 3,642 EX-MILITANTS (3RD PHASE) | N546,300,000 |
| STIPENDS AND ALLOWANCES OF 30,000 NIGER DELTA EX- MILITANTS | N23,625,000,000 |
So, while the possibility of amnesty programmes for Islamic sect Boko Haram looms, what else can N66bn (£272mn) pay for? Take your pick…
At least 306,856 civil servants’ salaries for a year
*Based on a national minimum wage of N18,000
16 months’ worth of fish imports
*Nigeria spends about N50bn importing frozen fish every year due to shortfalls in domestic production – Photograph: AgroNigeria
67, 000 “floating schools” for children in waterfront areas.
*Based on cost of one floating school (N993, 750) currently being proposed/built in Makoko, Lagos – Photograph: Daily Mail UK
6 years’ worth of processed tomato imports
*Based on government estimates of N11bn spent annually importing 65,809 tonnes of processed tomatoes into Nigeria – Photograph: The Engineering Network
Vaccines for 5 million to 27 million children
*Based on estimates which state it costs Nigeria $15 (N2,380) to immunize a surviving child but could rise to $80 (N12,696) per child by 2015 – Photograph: The Guardian Nigeria
240% of total pipeline products loss from 2009-2011.
*Pipeline products loss in monetary terms from 2009 when amnesty programme began till 2011 is N27.569bn. Based on figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation – Photograph: SweetCrudeReports
Two years’ funding for the Independent National Electoral Commission
*Based on total allocation of N32bn to INEC in Nigeria’s 2013 budget – Photograph: FeelFree.co
A month of oil subsidy payments (24 days)
*Based on reported figures (N1trillion) for Nigeria’s oil subsidy payments in 2012 – Photograph: EiE Nigeria
Three times the budget for Nigeria’s Tourism, Culture and National Orientation ministry
*Culture ministry budget is N23.18bn, based on the 2013 Appropriation Act – Photograph: Abuja Carnival
A year and a half’s worth of UK aid to Nigeria
*Based on a proposed spend of £185,000,000 (N44bn) for 2012/2013 by the UK’s Department for International Development Nigeria office – Photograph: Olori Supergal
So the law abiding citizens of Nigeria get nothing, but those who caused misery and heartbreak with their violence get a reward? Can the Govt be tried for inciting violence as this will surely encourage others to be lawless?