This is not the best of times for the Niger Delta Scholarship students studying abroad under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP). They are complaining of hard times because of what they refer to as poor funding of the programme.
In fact, they want the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to wade into the financial difficulties facing the programme. They want Osinbajo to treat their matter with seriousness in the spirits of the ongoing move by the Federal Government to find lasting solutions to the crisis in the Niger Delta.
The students’ representatives, Mr. Emomotimi Pius, in a statement, lamented that they were no longer allowed by their schools to undertake academic activities for not paying their tuition fees. Pius said they were also facing eviction from their accommodation over nonpayment of school fees and in-training allowances.
He said: “It has come to our notice how the ministries of finance, budgeting and planning, the Accountant-General and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are frustrating the Amnesty Programme by not releasing funds being approved by President Muhammad Buhari to the Amnesty Office.
“We are making it known to the general public the suffering the Niger Delta students are facing in foreign land due to poor funding of the amnesty programme.
“Students have also been asked to return back to Nigeria from America due to inadequate funding of the programme. We are totally against such decision of abrupt termination of our education.
He further said that students from the various universities were yet to receive a dime from the little sum of money that was released to the amnesty office.
He noted that Swansea University, Wales; Hertfordshire University, Hartfield; University of Portsmouth; University of Plymouth, University of Birmingham and others had not received their money for five months.
“We are in our final year of study and will be graduating soon. We are calling on the acting president, the House of Rep and Senate to take the necessary steps to salvage us from this precarious situation we are in due to lack of funds.
“While we commend the effort of the Acting president in seeking sustainable peace in Niger Delta through his visits to various states in the region, we call on all youths, ex-agitators, in the region to embrace the move.
“We are calling on the Finance Minister, the Minister of Budgeting and Planning, Accountant-General and the Governor of CBN to stop frustrating the effort of the Special Adviser and Coordinator of the Amnesty Hrogramme, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (retd) in achieving success in the amnesty programme.
“We are asking they stop playing politics with the release of funds for the amnesty program and support the effort of the special adviser in bringing the needed peace in Niger Delta and Nigeria”.
Source : The Nation
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