President Buhari Gives NDDC Ultimatum To Pay Stranded Scholarship Students In The UK

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) till the end of the week to pay the beneficiaries of the commission’s scholarship.

Charles Odili, NDDC Director Of Corporate Affairs, mentioned this after delivering the NDDC management’s invitation to the president to inaugurate the 29-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa state.

The beneficiaries recently protested the failure of the commission to pay their tuition and other promised fees for them. The beneficiaries again protested on Monday in the United Kingdom at Nigerian high commission in London to express displeasure over “negligence of their welfare”.

The scholars lamented that they have been stranded since the NDDC stopped paying their tuition and allowances one year after they were awarded the scholarship.

In a statement, Odili said scholars of the commission “who are facing hardships abroad” because of the non-remittance of their fees and stipends would be paid by the end of the week following the order of Buhari.

He said the delay in the remittance of the fees was caused by the sudden death of Ibanga Etang, NDDC former acting executive director, finance and administration, in May.

“Under the commission’s finance protocol, only the executive director (finance) and the executive director (projects) can sign for the release of funds from the commission’s domiciliary accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.

“With the death of Chief Etang, the remittance has to await the appointment of a new EDFA.

“Senator Akpabio, the Honourable Minister, said President Buhari who has been briefed on the protest by students at the Nigerian High Commission in London, has ordered that all stops be pulled to pay the students by the end of this week. We expect a new EDFA to be appointed this week. As soon as that is done, they would all be paid.”

from dfcnewsng