Prof Charles Quaker Dokubo, Special adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs

The Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo has expressed concern over the delay in the payment of In-Training Allowances (ITA) to the beneficiaries of the programme for three months, saying payment will be made soon.

Dokubo expressed this in a statement issued by his Special Assistant Media, Mr Murphy Ganagana on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to him, the office is pleased to notify the affected beneficiaries that the processing of payment for their outstanding ITA has reached advanced stage and payment would be made as soon as possible.

“Following concerns raised by some of our beneficiaries undergoing educational programmes in various universities across the country on the delay in payment of In-Training Allowances (ITA) for the months of April, May and June, 2018, the amnesty office deems it necessary to make clarifications on the issue.

“We are deeply concerned over our inability to pay our students studying onshore their allowances for the past three months, and wish to state that the delay was caused by some unforeseen circumstances that bordered on bureaucracy,” he said.

Dokubo, however, said that fresh (100 level) students, whose deployments were made in March 2018, might not benefit from the payments being processed as the procedure for their deployment was under investigation by relevant authorities.

He, therefore, commended students in the nation’s universities under the programme for their patience on the delayed payment of ITA, and assured that their welfare is of topmost priority.