Disclose Details, Beneficiaries Of Foreign, Local Scholarship

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign council in Ebonyi State, has demanded full disclosure of the financial details and beneficiaries of the state government’s foreign and local postgraduate scholarship programme.

Chief Emmanuel Igwe, spokesperson of the PDP governorship candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Odii, made the demand while speaking with newsmen on Sunday, following the reported departure of another batch of scholarship beneficiaries for the United Kingdom.

Key Highlights:

Igwe said while the initiative can contribute to human-capital development, the programme should be subjected to full public scrutiny because it is funded with taxpayers’ money.

He challenged the state government to publish the names of all beneficiaries, their universities, courses of study, tuition fees, accommodation costs, allowances and the total amount paid for each student.

“Let the government publish the names of the beneficiaries, the schools they attend, the courses they are studying and the exact amount paid to each institution.

“Ebonyians have the right to know how much public money is being committed to this programme,” Igwe said.

The spokesperson also questioned the widely circulated financial figures surrounding the scholarship programme, asking the government to provide a comprehensive breakdown rather than relying on aggregate figures.

Available reports indicate that the state government says its programme targets 1,000 beneficiaries—300 for overseas postgraduate studies and 700 for postgraduate studies within Nigeria.

Igwe said the figures make it even more important for the state government to provide citizens with a detailed account of expenditure.

He asked: “If the government says it is sponsoring 300 students abroad and 700 locally, where are the names? Which universities are they attending? What are the tuition fees?

“How much is being spent on accommodation and living allowances? How much has actually been released and to whom?”

According to him, the PDP is not opposes to the scholarship award to Ebonyi youths, but demands transparency, accountability and value for money in the process.

He further alleged that the scholarship programme could be vulnerable to abuse if complete records were not made public, while stressing that any allegation of financial misconduct should ultimately be tested against documentary evidence.

Igwe also dismissed suggestions that criticism of the programme amounts to opposition to human-capital development.

“Education is an investment. Nobody should oppose investment in the education of Ebonyi youths. But because it is public money, every naira must be accounted for,” he said.

The PDP spokesman said the departure of another group of scholars for Britain should therefore be an opportunity for the state government to publish comprehensive records and put the controversy over the programme to rest.

Igwe maintained that the government could easily settle the questions being raised by making the relevant documents publicly available.

“If the programme is transparent and everything is above board, publish the records and let Ebonyians see them. That is the simplest way to answer every question,” he said.