By Over 10 days after the President, Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), directed the Niger Delta Development Commission to pay the tuition fees of its 2019 scholars, the commission has yet to obey the presidential directive.
Over 200 scholars had been awarded scholarships by the NDDC in 2019 to pursue postgraduate studies abroad, fully funded by the commission. Each beneficiary was supposed to get N500,000 as take-off grant and $30,000 for tuition fees.
However, a year after the scholarship was granted, the commission has not paid the scholars’ tuition fees, with many of them facing expulsion and subsequently deportation from the countries where they are studying. Findings also showed that the NDDC only paid the take-off grant of N500,000 about eight months after the scholarships were awarded.
Many Nigerians had expressed outrage at the commission’s negligence amid corruption allegations running into billions of naira levelled against it.
A former acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr Joi Nunieh, had accused the commission’s Interim Management Committee of misappropriation of funds and alleged that the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, hijacked the forensic audit of the agency ordered by the President.
Consequently, the National Assembly had separately conducted probes into the allegation that the IMC squandered over N81.5bn between January and July 2020.
Among those summoned were Akpabio and the acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, who slumped during a recent hearing.
Intervening in the situation, the President on August 4 ordered the commission to pay its scholarship beneficiaries studying abroad.
In a statement titled, ‘NDDC invites President Buhari to Commission Signature Project’ and signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, the President conveyed the directive to the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio.
However, about 10 days after the presidential order, the NDDC has yet to pay its abandoned scholars, some of whom are said to be facing hardship abroad.
The spokesperson for the 2019 NDDC Scholars, Mr Olukayode Olugbemi, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said it was frustrating that their tuition fees had yet to be paid despite the President’s directive.
He hinted that the scholars might embark on another protest, saying it had become necessary to let the President know that his directive had yet to be obeyed by the NDDC.
He said, “Following our protest on August 3, 2020, at the Nigeria High Commission, London, and engagements with other critical stakeholders, President Muhammadu Buhari gave a presidential directive on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, mandating the Niger Delta Development Commission to ensure that no stones were left unturned to ensure the payment of the scholarship sum of the scholars before the end of the week.
“As that statement was made on a Tuesday, it effectively meant the NDDC had till Friday, August 7, 2020, to execute Mr President’s orders. The NDDC by itself confirmed this order by its tweets made on the same day and also a press statement on its website.
Honting that the scholars might protest again at the Nigeria High Commission in London, Olugbemi said, “We are forced to ask, does the President’s orders no longer carry weight? We protested and stopped operations at the Nigeria High Commission before Mr President gave the order, must we protest again, at the Nigerian High Commission, before the order would be implemented? Is it against the NDDC Act for the NDDC to address scholars to intimate of the challenges being faced, if any?
“At this time, scholars are tired of excuses and before we proceed on another protest, it has become necessary to remind Mr President that his orders have not been implemented by the NDDC and the scholars’ situation has yet to change.”
Also lamenting about their plight, one of the scholars, Samuel Danor, said it was worrying that the NDDC would take the presidential directive with levity. In a chat with one of our correspondents, Danor said, “It (presidential directive) still hasn’t been carried out, unfortunately. We have still not been paid despite the presidential order. I really don’t know what our country is turning into.
“If a commission of the Federal Government will take and handle an executive order with such levity, then I don’t know where we are heading to as a country.”
Scholarship matter will be sorted out next week -NDDC
When contacted, a Presidency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said since the statement of the reported presidential directive did not emanate from the media unit of the Presidency, any further question on the matter should be directed to the author of the statement.
“Recall that the statement announcing the presidential directive was not authored by either of the President’s spokesmen. It was issued by the NDDC. It is therefore appropriate that further enquiry on the matter should be directed to the author,” he said.
When contacted, the NDDC said all issues relating to the payment of its scholarship beneficiaries studying abroad would be sorted out next week. The commission’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Friday. Odili attributed the delay in the payment to the death of the commission’s former Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Ibanga Etang.
He said with the recent inauguration of Etang’s successor, the issue would be sorted out.
When contacted, a Presidency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said since the statement of the reported presidential directive did not emanate from the media unit of the Presidency, any further question on the matter should be directed to the author of the statement.
“Recall that the statement announcing the presidential directive was not authored by either of the President’s spokesmen. It was issued by the NDDC. It is therefore appropriate that further enquiry on the matter should be directed to the author,” he said.
The upper chamber had, on July 21, asked the CDS and the service chiefs to step aside, following the killing of soldiers fighting insurgency and banditry in some parts of northern Nigeria.
The decision came after a motion moved during plenary via a point of order by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume.
Ndume’s motion titled ‘Matter of urgent national importance’ was premised on the rising number of casualties among the armed forces and other security agencies due to escalating banditry and insurgency in the country. He described the situation as worrisome.
He said, “Just recently, 24 soldiers were ambushed and killed along the Gamboa-Maiduguri Road in Borno State. At least 19 were wounded, while nine were declared missing in action.
“It is also disturbing that in Katsina recently, about 20 soldiers were ambushed and killed, while several others were wounded. The number of civilian casualties is not known
“If the trend continues, it will have serious implications on the fight against insurgency, banditry and other forms of criminality in the country.
“Recently, it was alleged that over 236 soldiers voluntarily resigned from the Nigerian Army.”
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, in his prayer, as an addition to Ndume’s point of order, demanded that service chiefs step aside.
The Senate approved the prayer and passed a resolution on it accordingly.
The Presidency, however, reacted immediately, saying the President was not legally bound to act on the resolution of the legislature, while stressing that the President reserved the power to sack or retain the service chiefs.
In a recent interview, the Senate spokesperson, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said the red chamber would continue to persuade the President to act on its resolution.
“The Presidency said it is not legally bound to carry out (our) resolution because it is the prerogative of the President to remove service chiefs.”
Basiru did not categorically confirm if the Senate resolution was appropriately passed to the Presidency, but said, “Our resolutions are just persuasive authority coming from elective representatives of Nigerians in the National Assembly.”
He said, “It (resolution) is not a law. It is advisory and persuasive. The response of the Presidency is the correct position of law and I agree.
“Due to the principle of separation of power, we cannot compel the President to sack the service chiefs. We only responded to the feelings of Nigerians by asking the President to reorganise them (service chiefs) but he is not legally bound to do so.”
The Senate spokesman also noted that the Senate was deliberating with the executive on the decentralisation of the police and additional recruitment into the Force, adding that the decentralisation was already being worked on.
Copyright PUNCH.
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