Video: Abandoned NNDC Scholars Protest Non Payment Of Fees, Others In UK

Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission may be in fresh troubles, as  Scholarship beneficiaries of the NDDC have today taken to the streets of London to protest their alleged abandonment by the commission.

According to them, the Commission had stopped paying their tuition and allowance for upkeep.

They was also embittered by the possibility of being deported by authorities of the United Kingdom where they are schooling.

According to them,  their school fees and maintenance funds had not been paid one year after they were awarded scholarships.

During the protest, which held at the Nigeria High Commission in London, the aggrieved scholars displayed placards with various inscriptions.

Among the inscriptions are ‘NDDC has failed us’, ‘we have been thrown out of school’, ‘we risk deportation’, ‘must we protest to get paid, and ‘scholarship not suffership (sic)’.

While some of the protesters were seen sitting on the floor, others held the placards standing.

In a video of the protest shared online, the protesters insisted on speaking with the President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), or the Minister of the NDDC, Godswill Akpabio.

But an official of the high commission, who could not immediately be identified, appealed to the protesters for calm.

He said, “My integrity will be at stake if I call somebody else to act as the minister on the telephone. It will not solve your problem. What matters most is that we are giving you our words.”

The protesters however fumed the more, saying he was only repeating previous promises.

Another official, who tried to calm them down  said “We are the representatives of the President here. We are here to work for you. We are looking for a solution. Let us continue to communicate. We will address your issue.”

The protesters later agreed to suspend the protest for two hours for officials of the commission to communicate with the Nigerian authorities and give them feedback.

The officials, however, rejected the submission, saying that they would report and get back to the protesters “later”.

The protesting Nigerians insisted that they would not accept the half school fees or upkeep being proposed by the Nigerian government.

One of the protesters said, “We told them that we want to speak with the presidency. We have given them two hours. After two hours we are going to converge here again to get updates.

“So far, we have had the corporation of the police. Initially, it was frustrating. We apologise to Nigerians that have other legitimate businesses to do here. We apologise for the inconvenience. This is necessary and it is what the NDDC has pushed us to do.

Watch video here

Recall NaijaNews had a few days ago reported that the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa,  lamented over situation currently experienced by Nigerian students on Scholarship in the United Kingdom.

According to her, due to the inability of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC to pay the allowances, tuition, and other incentives of students the student on its scholarship scheme, a good number of the citizens have become beggars on the street.

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