On Sunday, the Strategic Communication Committee (SCC) of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) stated that external and internal auditors recently uncovered a massive payroll fraud in PAP.

The SCC chairman, Nature Kieghe, said at a news conference in Yenagoa that the discovery showed that an individual was receiving stipends for 33 people through fraudulent means.

He said 513 persons were linked to multiple payments.

Mr Kieghe said following the development, the PAP’s interim administrator, Barry Ndiomu, initiated verification of all beneficiaries as part of the ongoing investigation.

He explained that the audit and efforts of Mr Ndiomu to clean the payroll were the reason some beneficiaries have not received their stipends.

“Ndiomu initiated internal and external audits of PAP’s database. The auditors uncovered monumental fraud, especially in the payment of stipends where an individual is receiving stipends meant for 33 persons through fraudulent means,” stated Mr Kieghe. “Upon assumption of office, Gen. Ndiomu initiated plans to renegotiate the existing contracts with vendors. In the process, he has been able to save over N1.5 billion.”

He revealed that five months after his appointment, Mr Ndiomu had replaced the Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) model with the Train, Empower and Exit (TEE) to allow empowered beneficiaries to exit the programme.

(NAN)