Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission NIDCOM, has appealed to the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC to pay the allowances, tuition, and other incentives of students on its scholarship scheme in the United Kingdom as most of them have turned to beggars on the streets of the UK.
During the recent National Assembly probe of the NDDC, it was revealed that Nigerian students awarded scholarships to some universities in the United Kingdom, have been abandoned by the commission as they have not received a dime in allowance or school fees from the commission. Many of the students who came out to complain, said the commission has refused to respond to all emails sent to them appealing for their fees to be paid or allowances released.
In a statement released on Tuesday, July 28 by the NIDCOM spokesperson Gabriel Odu, Dabiri-Erewa appealed to the NDDC management team to as a matter of urgency, release the funds appropriated for the scholarship programme of these students. Dabiri-Erewa made reference to a letter written to the Minister of the Niger Delta, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, dated June 18, 2020, drawing attention to the plight of the students, and urging the NDDC to pay them.
The statement in part reads
”At the moment there have been persistent calls by the Students for urgent intervention. While deadline for payment of the fees of some of the students have expired or about to expire , non payment of their allowances have turned many of them to virtually become beggars”
Hmmm!