I hope this will make a front page because the lives of these first class students are being threaten everyday in foreign universities for unpaid fees.


AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY, DR. IFEANYI OKOWA, GOVERNOR OF DELTA STATE, ON THE PLIGHT OF FIRST CLASS GRADUATE SCHOLARS ABROAD.

Your Excellency, Dear Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, we are constrained to pen this open letter, to bring to your attention, the plight, hardship and financial quandary, students under the Delta State Scholarship Board, First Class Graduate Scholarship scheme, are currently faced with.

As you are aware, the First Class Scholarship Bursary Scheme, embarked to have the state’s most stellar students, enjoy the benefits of top tier education- and exposure, to make for human capital improvements, and as investments for the future, in line with the ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ vision of a state excelling in all spheres.

In line with this vision, many graduates and professionals keyed into this program, convinced of the commitment and assurance of the state, both in advancing the education of it’s own, and making for future returns, with trained scholars, academics and internationally groomed professionals, making good the vision of taking the state to amiable heights in their chosen endeavours.

But alas, this has become a challenge and painful embarrassment by the day, as funds meant for this program have not been made available to most of us in the last twenty (20) months, with others, in worse receipt states. Majority of us caught up in this, are studying for our PhDs, with some in their finals, and others in their penultimate study years. We already have explored all means to having this quagmire resolved, as enjoined by the board, with no indication of respite in sight, or any assurance to the contrary, and our conditions abroad have become dire.

At the moment, our Universities have served notice regarding our fees default status, and have threatened, and with some others- initialized, a withdrawal process, and nullification of students visas- and consequently, impending deportations. In addition, a blacklist of the confidence standing of the scholarship board is already in effect, and assurance/award
letters have been dismissed as lacking trustworthiness. Already, meeting up with bills and maintenance, has been fraught with embarrassing defaults, with county court judgements/injunctions and demands from creditors, becoming an unsettling reality.

We’re not unmindful of the state’s financial situation, occasioned by the drop in revenue, and allocations, and this has been demonstrated in the lead up to this route with steady and forbearing persuasions, formal and informal.

Again, we are pressed to plead that you employ your good office in having this issue attended to, with prayers that said funds are made available to us, so we could- at the very least, have tuition and basic commitments attended to, and to save the state and ourselves, another, in the annals of disrupted programs and broken lives. We trust that both as a father and leader, our welfare would/and has not lost your attention, hence this plea.

Thank you, Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, for steps you would take to rectifying this, and may God bless Delta State.

Signed: DELTA STATE FIRST CLASS GRADUATE SCHOLARS



Source: https://www.change.org/p/nigeria-his-excellency-dr-ifeanyi-okowa-governor-of-delta-state-nigeria-delta-state-scholarship-students-under-fire-from-foreign-universities-for-outstanding-fees

Too bad

Choi.. Some mods need to be ban. If this doesn't make fp

Hope the State Government address this issue as we are told they are focused on welcoming Ibori their 'hero'!

Pavore9:
Hope the State Government address this issue as we are told they are focused on welcoming Ibori their 'hero'!

Abandoning the future for the past! leaving Nigerian university first class graduates for a looter, most of these guys are rounding off their PhDs

bubsykay:


Abandoning the future for the past! leaving Nigerian university first class graduates for a looter, most of these guys are rounding off their PhDs

Which is so disheartening!

What do you expect from a state that has Ibori as a hero.

This is a programme aimed at building human capital development. The west did it before us and it paid them off massively, putting them at a sustainable competitive advantage position. China and other fast developing economies are doing it now.
We do not need to kill it at this stage because we have no insight in it future gain but it's a promise that when all the scholars come back to give and pour into the state all that they have learnt, the State would look back and wished they had done more.
We call on the state government to continue this great cause.
Long live Delta State!
Long live Nigeria!

If some irrelevant news can make fp, this is very relevant to some people's life and the whole world must see it. almighty lalasticlala where art thou?

make dem return back home, kawai!

Na naija way

Oil money running out ...that's what.

You know...a lot of people like to come here and say Nigeria is a rich country.

Fact is...we are poor and very poor.

As an example....we had $30bn in our foreign excess crude account last year.

At the same time ,Saudi had $724bn in theirs....and out of that they used $124bn to prop up their currency.

And you people think we are rich?

That is why we should follow China and become industrial....so that we can collect billions in forex monthly. Not this yeye oil that cannot even fill our tummies...talk-less account.

You want to run free education/free scholarship? YA HAVE TO HAVE THE FAT ACCOUNT TO PAY FOR IT. Of course....we must fight corruption....but be must (in Boxer's voice)...work harder.

if you want to hide information from some nairalanders put it in a long writeup

Naija I hail o

FINALLY

ITS A PITY THAT A STATE WITH THE 3RD LARGEST SUBVENTION FROM THE FG CANNOT FEND FOR ITS OWN......I HOPE THE RIGHT PEOPLE SEE THIS AND ACT PROMPTLY

Don't worry. Ibori will clear this mess when he is back from TOUR

Abeg who get original BB charger here

ehya too bad

Pained, exactly what happened to the pressid students. God save us

God will hlp ur ministry those dat are concern

Sorry Guys.........May God Help You.

Pay up Mr Governor

Nike

hmmn

hmmmm their water don pass garri ooo

It really is disgraceful that these students should be abandoned midway through the course of their studies. Who knows what contributions these young men and women might have made in the future?

It really says all one needs to know about the value Nigerian politicians place on human capital: even if there were a budgetary constraint on funding new scholarships, why not at least let the current recipients finish their studies, or at least give them a year or two to find new sources of funding?

Then again, what can one expect of a political class that has no problems driving by stunted children in their loot-funded Mercedes Benz saloons? Even more shameful is that these callous thieves are hailed as "oga", "chief" and "big man" by many of their victims. We get the leaders we deserve ...

Choi

Kikero112:
Oil money running out ...that's what.

You know...a lot of people like to come here and say Nigeria is a rich country.

Fact is...we are poor and very poor.

As an example....we had $30bn in our foreign excess crude account last year.

At the same time ,Saudi had $724bn in theirs....and out of that they used $124bn to prop up their currency.

And you people think we are rich?

That is why we should follow China and become industrial....so that we can collect billions in forex monthly. Not this yeye oil that cannot even fill our tummies...talk-less account.

You want to run free education/free scholarship? YA HAVE TO HAVE THE FAT ACCOUNT TO PAY FOR IT. Of course....we must fight corruption....but be must (in Boxer's voice)...work harder.

Spot on critical thinking. Sadly people like you are even rare in Naija university campuses

Delta state is the biggest joke of a state,sometime ago my younger brother and many others won the state scholarship,guess what?the guy that took the money from ibori on behalf of the young students,instead of paying it to the schools,your man pocketed all the money for himself,all the young bright students many of them are now roaming the streets without formal education as a result the man evil actions,and still the James ibori did nothing about it.

Delta is a joke.

More and more of such tales!


The Government needs to budget for the entire programme and make upfront payment also.






ThefakeStan