Delta State Govt Denies some Varsities Students Two years Bursary Payments

• Students Appeal to Gov Okowa to intervene and effect their payments.

Indications have emerged that some students of Delta State origin have twice been denied Delta State Government Bursary after meeting all the criteria specified for the payment of the bursary.

Investigations carried out by Gentechnews showed that some qualified Delta State Students in Public Government Own Tertiary Institutions who participated in the 2020/2021 as well as 2021/2022 edition of the bursary scheme were not paid their money.

According to some of the students from University of Benin (UNIBEN) Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma, among others who spoke on condition of anonymity explained that they met all the conditions listed in the bursary application by the state government.

In their words: “We scored more than the GPA 2.2 and above; Delta State Origin; obtained their National Identification Number (NIN); Registered full-time student of Public Tertiary Institutions; in Second year or above (200 to 500 level) in the Universities. We have met all the conditions yet we are not paid the bursary for two years now.

“We have to cry out because we have submitted the application for 2022/2023 bursary and want the state governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to intervene so that our outstanding bursary and the current one be paid to us because we are bonafide students in Public Tertiary Institutions and from Delta State.

However, Gentechnews reached out to the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Ehiedu, Mr Ifejeka, Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, and Chief Patrick Ukah, Secretary to the Delta State Governor to acquaint them with the Delta State students’ plights on payment of bursaries, but no response was received via their Whatsapps messages and no payment remedies have taken place up until now.

Gentechnews reached out to these top government officials going by the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2011, which was passed by the National Assembly on 24th May 2011 and assented by President Goodluck Jonathan on 28th May, 2011.

The Act, among other issues applies not only to public institutions but also to private organisations providing public services, performing public functions or utilising public funds.

The underlying philosophy of Freedom of Information is that public servants are custodians of a public trust on behalf of a population who have a right to know what they do. In particular, the FOIA promises to remove the aura of mystery and exclusion with which public servants cloak the ordinary operations of government and public institutions. It also seeks to change the manner in which public records and information are managed.

The Act builds on the presumption of openness, by placing on those who wish to keep public information away from the people, the onus of justifying why they have to do so.

The students of these institutions are using this medium to draw the attention of the Delta state government to their plight in the non-payment of their bursaries for two years and to call on those in charge of payment of the bursary to pay all those whose names are listed as pending for the past two years.

“We are appealing to our Delta State governor to intervene on this bursary issue and resolve it for us to be paid our 2020/2021 as well as 2021/2022 bursaries,” the students added.