President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to pay the fees and stipends of scholars of the commission who are facing hardships abroad.
The Director of Corporate Affairs at the NDDC, Charles Odili, disclosed this in a statement today.
This development is coming after the students called on the president to intervene in the matter through a protest recently in the United kingdom.
Odili said Buhari after being briefed on the issue, ordered that all steps be taken to pay the students fees and stipends by the end if this week.
He explained that the delay in remittance of the fees was caused by the sudden death of the then acting Executive Director of Finance and Administration (EDFA), Ibanga Etang, who died in May.
He said, “Under the commission’s finance protocol, only the Executive Director (Finance) and the Executive Director (Projects) can sign for the release of funds from the commission’s domiciliary accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“With the death of Chief Etang, the remittance has to await the appointment of a new EDFA. We expect a new EDFA to be appointed this week. As soon as that is done, they would all be paid.
