The Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Hope Eghagha, has faulted an online media report crediting him with some libelous statements over the bursary scam involving some Delta State students at the University of Lagos,Akoka.
“My attention has been drawn to a
publication by Saharareporters which reported an alleged demonstration by some
students of University of Lagos, during which some libellous statements were
credited to one Ambrose Ezenwani, a former student of the University of Lagos,”
the Commissioner said in a statement he personally signed on Sunday.
“Ordinarily, I would have ignored the
report. But because my name and reputation which I have built over three
decades are being impugned by Ezenwani, I have decided to issue a rebuttal.”
According to Eghagha,”I have also briefed
my counsel to initial action against the slanderer.
“I have been in government, trying to
practice what I preached as a critic, by ensuring judicious use of public
funds. I have NEVER been involved in fraud and will never get into fraudulent
actions. I have, working in concert with others, and with the approval of our
prudent Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, saved Delta State Government millions
of Naira by plugging leakages.
“What is being spearheaded by Ambrose and
his cohorts is a backlash against us for being the driving force against years
of bursary scam.” The professor said
“The first point to be made is that on
assumption of office as Commissioner for Higher Education in 2009, I was
confronted with one sad reality: some funds meant for students never got to
them. A cabal within the institutions and others cornered funds meant for students.
Along with members of the Scholarship Board headed by Monsignor Buchi Aninye,
we took steps to sanitise the process. All staff were transferred and new
persons posted to the board from the Civil Service.
“A new Executive Secretary was also appointed
by the Governor. We introduced online registration so that potential
beneficiaries could deal directly with the Scholarship Board. This yielded
fruits. Twenty-three thousand fake names were discovered and expunged from the
list.
“I was surprised that two days after we
announced to the world that fake names were found on the bursary list, some
students, including Ambrose and his ilk, demonstrated in Asaba and accused
members of the Board of inserting the names. They targeted the Executive
Secretary who is the Chief Executive of the Board. At that time, my name was
not mentioned. Suddenly, it is ‘Mr. Hope Eghagha’ that inserted fake names!
“As for the purported demonstration by
students, I call on the reporters to visit Unilag and ascertain those who took part
in it. The reporter who first called for my response said that they were a
handful. Indeed, they are not students of Unilag. The genuine leaders and
members of National Association of Delta State Students were not aware of any
protest and did not take part because they are satisfied with the scheme. I
have always left firm instructions with the Executive Secretary to ensure that
the students see the transparency of the process.
“We have run a system in which you don’t
have to know anybody to get your entitlements.
“The state Government has never released N2
billion at any one time for Bursary awards. The following is the breakdown of
releases made since 2009. In 2009/2010, the approved sum was N514,706.035.75.
Of this, N434,646,035.75 was expended while savings amounted to N80,060,000. In
2010/2011, the approved sum was N653,700,932.29; the sum of N481,145,432.29 was
expended; savings amounted to N172,555,500.
“In 2011/2012, the approved sum was
N610,134,868.46; amount expended was N 555,134,868.46. N55,000,000.00 was
saved. In 2012/2013, the sum of N699,650,256.50 was approved for the bursary.
Payment is on-going.
“Each year, whatever was saved as a result
of plugged leakages were ploughed back into payment for the next year with the
approval of the State Executive Council.
“I was never detained by any security
organisation in the country or elsewhere as alleged by Ambrose, a scoundrel who
revels in mudslinging and campaigns of calumny. We live in a country in which
once an allegation is made against government officials, the onus is on the
official to prove guiltlessness.
“A detailed account of how payments were
made is available at the Delta State Scholarship Board. For two years running,
we have published names of beneficiaries in some national newspapers. The
response has been encouraging.
“I would like Saharareporters to interview
Delta State Students in tertiary Institutions across the country about their
assessment of the scheme before publishing reports by scammers. It is on record
that Ambrose registered twice and collected money from some students to
register them. These reports are with security agencies. Indeed, for double
registration, Ambrose ought to face prosecution.
“Finally, our people have a proverb: if the
farm owner fails to pronounce an intruder on his farm a thief, the thief would
call the owner a thief. Members of the Scholarship Board and my office are
proud to affirm that since we started operating the different scholarship
schemes of the State, there has been a remarkable improvement in service
delivery. No acts of mudslinging will sway us from rendering service to the
people of our State.”
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