agongajoseph:
I think it takes two days at the Portharcourt CBN office then 2 weeks at the Abuja HQ.... but a staff incharge of Student affairs has negotiated with d Abuja HQ, so it will take 2 days to get to us n not 2weeks

Okay, thank you very much this information.

agongajoseph:
There's hope according to them as at yesterday, n dat on monday they will send the money thru to CBN, but dey said we shud pray for God to perfect it. They keep saying "Next week". Sad

Thank you for your efforts chasing this with them. I don't know, I just have this feeling payments will be made soon it's just a question of when. I don't know long it takes for the money to get through CBN to us (any ideas)? Let's hope for the best.

agongajoseph:
Whats d latest on payment people?

As of today, nada. I am hoping the payments will be a done deal this week. As I mentioned on previous thread, I emailed the coordinator and she said (first time ever she's done that) the payments are being processed. Fingers crossed.

Mayflowa:


Who is the Scholarship coordinator? Do you mean the consultant in-charge of nddc scholarship test? Or email reply from Seledi?

.

I emailed Seledi and copied every other nddc staffer involved. Seledi responded yesterday (and this is the fist time she's ever been this specific and assuring).

I think the fellow that mentioned that payments will be made this week is right. I had to cry out via email on Monday to NDDC scholarship coordinator to please look into our plight. Surprisingly I got a response today from NDDC office informing that our payments are being processed. Well, this is the first time I have had a definite response from them for a long time. So fingers crossed. God help us all.

Nigerdcritics:
All NDDC Scholars should start getting their fees and upkeeps by Monday next week.
The list of scholarship students will be out in December.
I wish all of you well.

Thank you for the info. Wish everyone well

I thank everyone on this thread for your valuable information. Will definitely update as soon as payments are disbursed (hopefully soon enough so the 2017 list can be released on time).

It really is a shame. We hope and pray whatever the delay it gets sorted soon enough. I emailed one of the coordinators to lament and plead for any info at all on the status of our payments. Well, I received a not too hopeful reply simply stating - We are still awaiting management approval for the release of funds. This has been the regular sound bite for over a year now. God help us. Let us still try to remain hopeful (including those awaiting the release of the list).

You don't get to dictate what we say on this thread, 'Mr' Nelson. If you don't like it, take a hike.

nelsont1:
They decide which scheme to mess with and you will only compose long sentences on nairaland after that. If they decide to mess with PTDF, we will still do nothing. You think you deserve the scholarship because you're a Nigerian citizen? or because they love that you're too intelligent to pass any exam or their cbt? You think they're interested in whatever it is you'll contribute to the region after graduation? Lol... Wake up, they owe us only money for votes. You will be hurting yourself if you continue living your life thinking these men owe you anything whether APC or PDP. Better wake up and go find a way to further your studies. You talking about embarrassment lol, wait until they ban the youths totally from going to study abroad. We will still do nothing. Finally, please get us the scholarship with your guided positive belief. We are waiting.

Mr Nelson, I never said I deserved or I am owed anything - there is no need to vent or get ridiculously political like you have just done. Your tone suggests you have already given up and you are like ..... 'yeah whatever, the system is flawed, let's all deal with it.' Sure it is, but it is this sort of attitude that enables corrupt leaders to carry on as they have. If your issue is with dishonest scholars, then I hear you; but I am saying we - genuine 'by the book' scholars do NOT deserve to be treated the way we have. Are you saying they do not owe us any explanation?? I disagree with you. We did not ask for help to travel to the UK or US for studies. They sent out notification ads without any prompting from us encouraging qualified/potential candidates to apply for an overseas scholarship which we did. I wrote the test and attended a gruelling interview. I did not beg or solicit any favours. And I believe most of us did not either. So again your rants are misdirected and misguided.

I wish you are awarded the scholarship (and deservedly so) so when you get here and you are left to your own devices, you can come back and tell me 'to wake up and find a way to further my studies.' BTW, I have been doing that since 2015 after being forewarned about NDDC; but that does not mean they should not fulfil their payment obligations - so yes they do owe us something, an explanation at the very least.

This is the last time I will respond to any of your condescending drivel. Good luck.

nelsont1:
Outside this thread, most of you are notorious supporters of these politicians. If they pay us.. Good, if they don't...deal with it or go hang yourselves. We deserve them. When 2019 comes, go take money from them and vote for them again. Let this thread be silent until our political gods decide if we deserve the nddc scholarship or not.

'if they don't pay us, deal with it or go hang yourselves'

Very classy of you. We have been dealing with it since 2015. We know the system is flawed, we get that. But if they are unable to sustain the scheme anymore, why not outright say so?? That's my point. We are not here to demand anything we don't deserve. If they have sent us here for studies, then the least they can do is at least be honest with us rather than respond with cryptic automated messages. This NDDC situation has been on since PDP was in power. PTDF isn't perfect but their scholars have nothing to worry about. Hence if NDDC cannot sustain the scheme, there is really no need to embarrass us this way. Keep your misguided pessimism to yourself.

agongajoseph:
All they say is "Be patient, we are working on it" 2015 phd scholars have suffered enuff.

They have been saying that since January this year. There is something systematically wrong with the way they run things over there - or perhaps it is deliberate. We have suffered enough, their excuses don't hold water anymore.

shophut:
I think our protest should go to the past governor of Rivers State, Gov. Amaechi because he brought in Mrs Ibim Seminitari to become the Acting MD/CEO, while it was still the turn of Akwa Ibom State to produce an MD.

He should be summoned on this as well and the backlog in fees and upkeep should be recovered from Mrs. Ibim Seminitari.

That is where we should start if actually we want to resolve this issue. The manner at which our so called leaders break rules and go and walk free is what we should stop. It is time we as scholars demand for the right processes if not they will continue in what they know how to do best.

The big question remains how would a scholar who didn't follow any due process in achieving the award end up in the UK? And now how do you intend to get justice. To start with you have been (those involved) found wanting and in a compromising position. So there is nothing you will say to defend yourselves.

I for one, will NOT be involved in any protest, because some scholars are guilty and responsible for what is on ground now. It is rather unfortunate that others who went through the process are involved in this mess. Well if deportation is the drastic measure the UK government wants to take, i will advice those scholars affected to come back home.

I share your sentiments (I'm a 2015 scholar) but I don't think the blame should rest primarily on scholars who did not follow due process. They had enablers within their coffers that allowed this to happen. So the rest of us shouldn't suffer because of some few or perhaps many bad apples that the organisation itself help perpetuate.
When it comes to disbursing payments, NDDC has always been the latest to make payments, even my school acknowledged to us that they are well aware this particular scholarship tends to delay but this period takes the cake. Do you think they will automatically change with the new set?? I think not; mind you, during induction, we were all warned about nddc's consistent delays in remitting tuition/allowances and it gets worse every year.

They have claimed (as reasons for the delay) to do a total overhaul/audit on their database to verify genuine scholars and I have sent everything they asked for - my assessment paperwork (PhD), scanned ID card, sent student confirmation letter from the school, communicated via my school email address, every verification docs they asked for, I submitted. Nothing till this day. I sincerely hope the 2017 set do not go through what we have - let's hope for the best but they really need to settle their backlog.

iphyconsult:
Is there any 2016 scholars who are yet to be paid and are currently in UK (london precisely). 2015 scholars are working out some plans.

Pls contact me ASAP if you wanna join this movement!

I'm a 2015 scholar. I've not been paid for two sessions (we are now in a new session) - I'm not aware of any plan(s) either.

Chigojude:
Stay afloat @ladybug. I can relate to studying with little or no resources to live on, its not a funny experience. Hopefully, things will change with our set.

Thank you

dannysugar:


It is my earnest prayer that an end to these sad tales about NDDC Scholarship in general comes to an end.
I commend you guys for the steps taken to end this problem. The news about this is already gathering momentum on newspapers and blogs and I believe/hope the mgt is not heartless not to take another look into your claims. Keep up the struggle. Future Scholars will benefit from these corrections.

Thank you. Wish every potential scholar the best and hope things do change for the better

dannysugar:


I sympathize with you on this. If you have been paid at least once although late, hw difficult is it to track same invoice from the school that got the payment as NDDC claims? Well, I hope this gets clearer.

For the first payment, my tuition fees were paid directly to my school's account and this followed from the invoice I initially sent to NDDC so there were no issues. I don't think it is difficult to track the invoice because the school addresses NDDC on the invoice note - which is sent to me, and what I have always done is forward the invoice to NDDC. As a PhD student, your tuition fees does not change in the three years of your study and the school has always provided an invoice for the next school year (with reminders on outstanding payments which I have always forwarded to the commision).

The funny part is, we actually received an email last year October (start of a new session) from NDDC scholarship coordinator to send tuition invoices as soon as possible, which I and my colleagues did but since October 2016 to date, nothing - we've just been in limbo. How I have survived to this day is a miracle, to be honest.

Cebu:
[I can imagine the anguish and frustration you've been through... Please, have you got any subtantive explanations why 2016 batch have received payments successively while you (2015) are left hanging?]

No, we have not been paid, unfortunately. It truly is demoralising. I'm a PhD student. The first and only payment I received was in March 2016 (mind you I registered/started the previous year - October 2015). It's a shame really.

I have been in touch on a weekly basis to find out what the issue is and have heard varying reasons as to why we've been neglected. First, we were told it was a total overhaul or auditing of the system to determine genuine scholars. To that end, we were asked to submit necessary documentation including assessment reports to prove I'm a PhD (NDDC) scholar and in the school to which I was awarded the scholarship for (which I did). Then, it was just the usual line; 'we are awaiting management approval' and that has been the narrative for a long time. We heard some scholars were paid around March 2017 and we had hope that perhaps we will receive ours soon but nothing. It truly is embarrassing being bombarded by the school on outstanding fees/payments and I simply just forward such notifications to them (NDDC).

dannysugar:


Good. Pls as a 2015 Scholar,Have you been paid by NDDC? So we know if the end to our waiting is in sight. Thank You.

No, we have not been paid, unfortunately. It truly is demoralising. I'm a PhD student. The first and only payment I received was in March 2016 (mind you I registered/started the previous year - October 2015). It's a shame really.

As a scholar myself (2015), I can confirm to you that in my time there was no list in the first instance, we all got an SMS informing/inviting us to the induction and I wasn't sure I was awarded yet until I went to the induction and got my award letter

Hello, this is for 2015 nddc scholars still expecting their allowances. I do sympathize with those that have not been paid upkeep / allowances. Try to email Mrs Sotonye Ordor - sotonye.ordor@nddc.gov.ng.
I'm not sure of her job title but a fellow scholar passed on her details to me as the one to contact for scholarship and payment enquiries. I have to warn though, she may not respond to your emails immediately but simply persist and she will eventually get back to you as she did in my case. I can't post her number here as she was not particularly happy when I called her (got her number from a fellow scholar too) and she severely berated me for that so I'm being very cautious (it wasn't a pleasant phone call quite honestly).

Once again, I truly empathize with our fellow scholars yet to receive allowance. Also check with your school finance department jus to double check if by any chance all the scholarship payment was (or not) made to your school's account.

I wasn't paid until 6 months after and I am trying not to criticize (NDDC) - don't want to sound ungrateful; But compared to other scholarships (E.g. PTDF), NDDC tends to fall short in terms of obligations unfortunately as our expected stipend tends to come really late or from what I hear, too late to make any difference.

Nairaboy2015:
Hello guys, Does anyone have the email address of the nddc boss?. I need to email her directly. Its so sad the we are almost graduating and have not been paid up keep.

Hello, this is for 2015 nddc scholars still expecting their allowances. I do sympathize with those that have not been paid upkeep / allowances. Try to email Mrs Sotonye Ordor - sotonye.ordor@nddc.gov.ng.
I'm not sure of her job title but a fellow scholar passed on her details to me as the one to contact for scholarship and payment enquiries. I have to warn though, she may not respond to your emails immediately but simply persist and she will eventually get back to you as she did in my case. I can't post her number here as she was not particularly happy when I called her (got her number from a fellow scholar too) and she severely berated me for that so I'm being very cautious (it wasn't a pleasant phone call quite honestly).

Once again, I truly empathize with our fellow scholars yet to receive allowance. Also check with your school finance department jus to double check if by any chance all the scholarship payment was (or not) made to your school's account.

I wasn't paid until 6 months after and I am trying not to criticize (NDDC) - don't want to sound ungrateful; But compared to other scholarships (E.g. PTDF), NDDC tends to fall short in terms of obligations unfortunately as our expected stipend tends to come really late or from what I hear, too late to make any difference.

A fellow (NDDC) scholar from another school posted this:

https://www.nairaland.com/2976318/update-nddc-scholarship-payment#43672684

I don't know what to make out of it but well, perhaps there is hope.

Thank you for sending this. I do appreciate and feel very fortunate as a scholar but I'm beginning to think this scholarship only caters to those that are already well-off. I don't understand the premise of sending us for studies and not fulfilling its obligations on time - in fact it's more like 'you're on your own' until we get back to you. That's not the way it should be, especially in a foreign land. The programme I believe is designed to help well deserving Nigerians that do not have the means of funding their studies and not to payback those who can. I am trying not to be negative but when you are in a dicey uncertain position as we all are (some of us in debt) - it becomes hard to be positive. I was warned by previous scholars that they tend not to make payments on time, but for those (previous) scholars that started by September, they got paid in February so I guess ours - coupled with the change in management - is the worse case scenario. God hep us.

AnthonyAnderson:
Almost two months ago, I posted our plight (https://www.nairaland.com/2873734/plea-help...nddc-left-us-hopeless) here on Nairaland..I was grateful to see MODs move it to the front page.

Today we received this mail from the school administration on NDDCs reply after the school had assisted in writing severally to NDDC. I decided to share with all so we can learn. As I write to you some students have stopped going to classes since last month. Living is hell. Coupled with the extreme cold weather now. The advice given in my previous posts were shared with all students and many thanks to everyone that contributed. However it has been very difficult getting jobs..Any kind of jobs as the requirements have now been revised all in a bid to discourage us from applying.

See the mail below....

Dear all

Regrettably, we have received some bad news from NDDC regarding the payments of both your living expenses and course fees.

We received an e-mail Friday afternoon from Godson, copying in both Victor Seigha and Eddie Gordons Okoye, confirming that although they advised us that payments would be made on or by the 4th March that the management have now decided that the tuition and living fees for all students, both September 2015 and January 2016, will now be paid together rather than in batches which has been the case previously so the payments have been delayed once again.

The reason stated is that the NDDC audit department will now be looking through all of the documents and payments will only be made once the audit process has been completed in full. They have also not been able to give an exact date on when the payments will be made but they have confirmed that they will be paid “as soon as possible”. I appreciate that this is not the news that you wanted to hear and I know that this now puts a lot of you in difficult financial situations.

Firstly, in terms of your course fees, a decision has been made that none of the NDDC students will be blocked due to non-payment of the course fees so please do not worry on this side of things and if you do receive any notification from Finance that you have been blocked then please contact me directly and I will ensure that the block is removed, however, I do need to inform you that you will not be allowed to Graduate until your course fees are paid in full. I appreciate that this is still some months away and we would expect payment from NDDC well in advance of this but I need to ensure that you are fully aware of the situation from the outset.

In terms of your living expenses I am afraid there is only limited support that the University can provide to you and you will now need to seriously consider your financial situations and make a decision on whether you will be able to support yourselves through the remainder of your course without the support of NDDC. I am afraid if the answer is no then it may be the case that you will need to return home as we have no guarantee from NDDC on exactly when the payments will be made.

I can only apologise again that NDDC have not fulfilled their sponsorship terms and would like to reiterate that our students welfare is our paramount concern. I would encourage you all to contact NDDC directly to explain your situations and try to put pressure on them to make the payments as soon as possible and please be assured that we are doing the same.

I completely understand that this e-mail is not the news that you (or we) wanted to hear and as such I have booked meeting room SC109 (upstairs in the Student Centre) for tomorrow Tuesday 8th March between 14:00 – 15:00 p.m. if you would like to come and discuss this further.


Kind regards

Adam O'Flynn

Sponsor Recruitment and Admissions Manager


Lalasticlala, Fynestboi, Olawalebabs, please help move to front page. Many thanks as always.

Hi, did you try to contact a Mrs Sotonye? Some scholars in my school from previous years said she's the coordinator and the one we are to contact for payments, or to inform that we've registered / resumed etc; and I emailed her last year. My colleagues too are bewildered that we haven't received payments yet (although there was the usual delay in their case, but by February they were all paid). God help us.

iphyconsult:
I think I was the only one,...when the whole house remain silence all day.

Hi everyone,

Has any scholar (NDDC 2015) received any payment yet please? This is not funny anymore quite honestly - I think we've all been patient enough.