Nigerian govt begins payment of two year scholarship arrears | EduCeleb
Abdussalam Amoo
25th June 2019
The Nigerian government has commenced the payment of two year scholarship arrears it owed qualified students in various indigenous tertiary institutions.
This is coming a few days after an EduCeleb.com report showed that the government had not paid the scholars despite public announcements claiming so.
Various scholars across the country have, since Sunday, confirmed receipt of their monies after endlessly waiting.
The beneficiaries who were selected by the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) in 2017 and 2018 were not paid for about six months into 2019 after government officials claimed that about N9 billion had been released to offset the arrears.
An elated student in his final undergraduate year at the University of Port Harcourt told EduCeleb.com that he was paid N300,000 – a sum of the arrears for the two years.
He said the money would afford him the opportunity to clear his debts accrued over the time.
“The money will help me to clear the arrears,” the student simply identified as Henry said.
“The remaining amount will be for my upkeep. Thanks for your role in ensuring that the payment finally started coming.”
Other students at the University of Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, the University of Calabar and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka also confirmed getting paid.
In some cases, some got N150,000, which is for one year while others got N300,000 for the two years.
Several students in other institutions complained to EduCeleb.com that they had not been paid and are anxious to know their fate.
It is not clear why this delay exists among them but Federal Ministry of Education spokesperson, Mr Ben Goong said the payment was a gradual process assuring that scholars who were successful during the screening conducted in February would be paid eventually.