THE member representing Esit-Eket/Eket/Onna/Ibeno Federal Constituency of Akwa-Ibom State in the House of Representatives, Honourable Bassey Dan-Abia Jnr, on Sunday, rejected the final list of the 254 beneficiaries of special scholarship programme as released by the office of Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta (OSAPND), saying it was lopsided .
Dan-Abia, in a press statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, said the choice of the beneficiaries of the programme were skewed against his state, Akwa Ibom unjustifiably while other states were unduly favoured. He advised OSAPND to “immediately withdraw the list in the interest of equity and fair play.”
He accused the coordinator of the scheme, Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta of nepotism in the selection of the beneficiaries.
The lawmaker wondered why Akwa Ibom, the biggest oil producing state in the country was allotted only three slots in the programme while other states like Ondo State, the home state of Kingsley Kuku, was allotted 43 slots.
In the list advertised in two national newspapers on Friday, Benue State got one slot, Cross River got three slots, Bayelsa got 101 slots, Delta 55 slots, Edo 10 slots, Imo State got 10 slots, while River State got 28 slots.
The special scholarship scheme, coordinated by OSAPND, was put together to assist brilliant students in the oil producing states to acquire university education.
; and is available only to those who recorded the least minimum cut off mark of 180 at the University matriculation examination conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the list of beneficiaries wre made public by OSAPND last friday.
According to him, “I wait to be educated on why Akwa Ibom state, the largest contributor to the nation’s oil wealth was so treated. Is the office of Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta telling Nigerians that only three persons from Akwa Ibom state scored 180 and above in the last JAMB examination? Is it that not a single girl of Akwa Ibom origin scored as much as 180 in the examination?
“Take a look at the advertised list of beneficiaries and you will see that some beneficiaries picked from other states scored as low as the minimum 180 marks in the JAMB examination while the least of the three selected from Akwa Ibom scored 211 marks.
“I wait to hear from those saddled with the selection process to tell the whole world if there are no other candidates from Akwa ibom who also scored 180 marks in the examination.
“Even though, the handlers of the scheme want the nation to believe that the programme is meant strictly for students who sat for JAMB and passed the examination, I also notice that a student from Edo state who obtained Direct Entry form was allotted a slot on the scheme while two others from Ondo State were also given the privilege.
“I seek concrete explanations on behalf of my people, why Akwa Ibom state should be so brazenly cheated in a scheme of which the source of funding is mainly from the soil of the state.
“What is the volume of Ondo State’s contribution to oil wealth that the state should be given preference far and above Akwa Ibom state in the scholarship scheme?
“If what has just happened is not a manifestation of nepotism, then I seek a new interpretation of what nepotism is”.
He challenged OSAPND to make public the source from which the list of beneficiaries were drawn; and also make public the medium through which application was invited from qualified students if such methodology was adopted at all.
He,however, expressed readiness to provide list of Akwa Ibom indigene who are qualified for the scheme to OSAPND before Friday disclosing further that he has directed students from the state who scored 180 and above in the last JAMB examination to put down their names at his constituency office for onward referral to OSAPND.
“I am curious to know the source from which the list of beneficiaries was drawn. Did the handlers of the scheme go to JAMB to seek for the list of those who scored 180 marks and above or was it advertised for interested persons to apply? I seek, on behalf of my marginalized people evidence sto proof what was done before arriving at this contentious list.
“It is impossible for Akwa Ibom to have just three student score above 180 marks in the last JAMB examination, and to proof this, I have directed that a list of students who took the last JAMB examinations and score up to 180 marks be taken, and submitted at my constituency office.
“I will forward same to the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta latest by Friday this week and I expect them to be listed on the scheme too, if those behind the scheme actually do not have a negative agenda against Akwa Ibom state” he said.
SOURCE; Tribune
http://tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/12449-lawmaker-rejects-final-list-of-osapnd-scholarship-programme
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