•Insists they are not part of scholarship beneficiaries

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) yesterday disowned responsibility for payment of school fees of 5000 students of Itsekiri extraction in Novena University, Ogume, Delta State.

The PAP, in a statement, maintained the agency was not owing fees in the privately owned Novena University or any institution within or outside the country.

The sole representative of Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III, to NNPLC, Mr. Collins Oritsetimeyin, had last weekend alleged that the Amnesty Programme was “indebted” to Novena University concerning “all Itsekiri students” who graduated from the institution purportedly under the programme’s scholarship scheme.

He claimed, in a statement, that the alleged liability made the Olu’s palace to announce an intervention to settle the “outstanding tuition and clearance fees” of all the affected Itsekiri graduates in the said institution.

Reacting to the claim, however, PAP insisted that there were no records in Novena University and the Amnesty Office concerning award of scholarship to the said 5000 Itsekiri students of the institution.

It explained the report of an inquiry into the issue by previous heads of the agency revealed that the 5000 Itsekiri indigenes were sent to the management of Novena university by the Itsekiri National Youth Council (INYC) in 2017 without the involvement of the agency.

PAP noted that it was not conceivable for the PAP to take responsibility for the students who were not deployed by the agency.

“The management of PAP wishes to state unequivocally that it is not owing Novena university any tuition fees on account of the said Itsekiri graduates and any claim to the contrary is totally false, baseless, and represents an attempt to stand truth on its head.

“PAP wishes to say also that it is not owing tuition fees in any institution within or outside the country.

“To set the records straight, it is necessary to inform the public that the affected Itsekiri graduates were a subject of a formal investigation launched by a previous PAP leadership into allegations of scholarship admission racketeering under the programme’s formal education at Novena. Three other partnering universities were also investigated.

“The report of the inquiry showed that the affected Itsekiri graduates constituted a list of 5000 Itsekiri indigenes that was sent to the management of Novena University by the Itsekiri National Youth Council (INYC) in 2017 purporting them to be PAP scholarship beneficiaries”, it stated.

The agency maintained that the investigation revealed the list in question did not emanate from the PAP and did not also have any authorization or approval of the Amnesty Programme office adding, “Therefore, the affected Itsekiri indigenes could not have been deemed to be beneficiaries of the PAP scholarship scheme.

“Additionally, the inquiry also revealed there was no correspondence between the PAP and Novena University indicating that PAP approved the purported list of 5000 Itsekiri students to be deployed to the institution.

“The investigative committee, during its work, met with the INYC president and the secretary, as well as principal officers of Novena University led by its Vice-Chancellor who could not produce any documentation between the PAP and the institution on the affected Itsekiri graduates.

“At the end of the exercise, the PAP duly informed the management of Novena University that the Amnesty Programme office would not bear any liability for the affected students. Doing so would have amounted to encouraging sharp practices.

“Therefore, the PAP could not have accepted responsibility and obligation where it had none. The affected Itsekiri graduates of Novena University that the Olu’s palace is intervening for, were never beneficiaries of the amnesty programme’s scholarship”, it stated emphatically.

The agency disclosed that all the PAP administrations that preceded the current one headed by the Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, had seen the official report of the investigation and they respected the incontrovertible truth so established.

“Thankfully, Dr Otuaro has expanded the PAP scholarship scheme in order to create more access to higher education for ex-agitators and beneficiaries and aggressively bridge the human capital development gap in the Niger Delta.

“His noble reforms and initiatives to ensure that the PAP renders efficient service to the people of the Niger Delta have been applauded in official quarters, as well as by all well-meaning individuals and organisations.

“Dr Otuaro remains unwaveringly committed to deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate, especially through his policy of inclusivity, to complement the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, for the Niger Delta”, it concluded.

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