By Eunice Nnach i, Yenagoa
The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has announced that the delay in payment of stipends for March 2024 was due to technical glitches in one of the banks handling the payments.
A statement by the Special Assistant, Media, to the Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Igoniko Oduma, stated that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) admitted to experiencing processing issues that affected some delegates’ accounts, but assured that the failed transactions had been refunded.
The Amnesty Office, under the leadership of Administrator Dennis Otuaro, PhD, is collaborating with UBA to resolve all outstanding payment issues.
The Office thanked beneficiaries for their patience and patriotism in the face of this unexpected development.
The statement reads in part, “Following repeated complaints from beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) that they had not received their stipends for the month of March, one of our banks has explained the reason for the abnormal delay.”
“In a letter to the Programme Administrator, Dennis Otuaro, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) explained that some delegates banking with it had not been paid due to glitches in the bank’s processing system.
“The bank, however, explained that it has processed the refund for the failed transactions into the beneficiary’s accounts.
“Due to complaints from some beneficiaries, the Amnesty Office had written to the bank seeking an explanation for the delay.
“The Amnesty Office had disbursed March stipends to all beneficiaries’ accounts and the funds had already left its accounts.
“The Office will collaborate with UBA to ensure that all outstanding payment issues are resolved.
“The Office thanks all beneficiaries for their patience and display of patriotism in reacting to this unexpected development”, the letter read.
