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 states most stellar students, have 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 having 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 its 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 debilitating 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. Many 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, as 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 injunctions and demands from creditors, becoming an unsettling reality.

We’re not mindful 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
Updates

please moderators move this to front page



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?recruiter=466777898&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

this is so unfair. the government of delta State should do the needful