Kingsley Kuku
The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, has withdrawn the sponsorship of Nigerian student-delegates at the Peoples Friendship University, Moscow, Russia, following their unprovoked attack on the Nigerian Embassy in that country.
The decision was taken after it was discovered that reasons given by the students were baseless and untrue.
A statement issued on Wednesday by Daniel Alabrah, Head, Media and Communications, Presidential Amnesty Programme said the six were part of its twenty-four student-delegates at the university under a special scholarship scheme for Niger Delta youths.
Media reports say the incident at the Mission resulted in the arrest of sixteen of the students by the Russian police.
Reacting, the Amnesty office stated that for going on rampage and violently attacking the Nigerian Mission, the students breached the Code of Conduct for delegates on scholarship that they all signed before their departure from Nigeria.
“It is a gross misconduct which the Nigerian government cannot tolerate. Students on its sponsorship cannot go on rampage on flimsy excuses in a foreign country to damage the image and reputation of Nigeria”, it said.
Continuing, “Our records show that the students were not being owed their In-Training Allowance (ITA) for six months as they alleged. In fact, the only unremitted allowance was for the month of September 2013, which had been approved and was being processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time they attacked the Mission.
“Amnesty office had communicated the students on Friday, September 27, 2013 about the processing of their ITA for the months of September and October 2013 and the need for them to be patient while it was being handled by the CBN.
“We were therefore shocked when information got to us that the delegates had invaded the Embassy, destroyed property and attacked the Mission officials over unpaid allowances. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Kuku, who doubles as Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, said the school authorities will be communicated on this development.
He further dismissed speculations among former fighters that they will soon be paid the sum of Two Million Naira (N2m) each by the Amnesty Office.
“There is no such plan to pay any of them such amount,” Kuku said.
The rumour, he noted, had caused serious tension in some of the Niger Delta states and that his office had been inundated with unnecessary phone calls and enquiries.
Comentarios