The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has clarified that it is not owing school fees of 5000 students of Itsekiri extraction in Novena University, Ogume, Delta State, explaining that the students are not part of its scholarship scheme.
The PAP in a statement on Tuesday signed by the Special Assistant on Media to its Administrator, Igoniko Oduma, insisted that it was not owing fees in Novena or any institution within or outside the country.
PAP was reacting to claims by the so-called Office of the Sole Representative of His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri to NNPLC 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.
The monarch’s agent, Collins Oritsetimeyin Edema, reportedly made the curious claim in a statement that the alleged liability compelled the Olu’s palace to announce an intervention to settle the “outstanding tuition and clearance fees” of all the affected Itsekiri graduates of Novena.
But PAP said there were no records in Novena University and the Amnesty Office concerning award of scholarship to the 5000 Itsekiri students of the institution.
PAP explained that 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 its involvement.
The scheme added that it was not conceivable for the PAP to take responsibility for the students who were not deployed by the agency.
The statement said, “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.
“The investigation revealed that the list in question did not emanate from the PAP, and did not also have any authorization or approval of the Amnesty Programme office. Therefore, the affected Itsekiri indigenes could not have been deemed to be beneficiaries of the PAP scholarship scheme.
Credit: Thenations
