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The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, says it is making plans to
run its post graduate scholarship programme in Nigerian universities,
especially those in the Niger Delta region.
This was disclosed by the NDDC Interim Administrator, Mr. Efiong Akwa,
during a courtesy visit by a delegation from University of Port
Harcourt, UNIPORT, led by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Stephen
Okodudu, at the NDDC permanent headquarters in Port Harcourt.
Akwa, who was reacting to a request by the Vice Chancellor for another
hostel in the university, promised to assist in elevating the
educational institutions in the Niger Delta region to make them suitable
for the post graduate programme.
The NDDC boss observed that in an era of Covid-19 pandemic, it was
necessary to assist universities to properly and comfortably accommodate
students in order to ensure sufficient provision for social distancing
in the hostels.
He told the Vice Chancellor that the university’s request would be taken
care of in the 2022 budget of the NDDC, describing UNIPORT as a flagship
university in the Niger Delta region.
Akwa advised the university to write formally to the Commission for
appropriate budgetary provisions and presentation to the budget
committee of the National Assembly.
He expressed confidence that the National Assembly would be willing to
accommodate the request since the project would impact on the quality of
the learning environment, as well as the welfare of the students.
Akwa noted that the University of Port Harcourt was playing a crucial
role in the economy of the South-South region. According to him, “the
university has done a whole lot of work in research, engineering and
other disciplines, providing data and baseline studies for the good of
our country.”
Akwa decried the current dilapidated condition of the existing NDDC
hostel in the university, noting that authorities of the institution
should take responsibility for management and maintenance of the
facility.
He said further: “When we deliver a project and hand over to an
institution or community, we also hand over the responsibility of
maintaining and managing the project. It is unfortunate that most
Nigerian managers don’t take issues of maintaining government facilities
seriously. It is regrettable that the university has not effectively
managed the hostel for the use of students.
He advised the university to carry out remedial works on the hostel that
has been handed over to them to encourage the NDDC to do more for them.
Speaking earlier, the Acting Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Professor
Stephen Okodudu, appealed to the NDDC to assist the university to ease
the pressure of accommodation by building another hostel for them.
He said: “The University of Port Harcourt is supposed to be one of the
beneficiaries of your intervention efforts as a Commission. We do have a
robust relationship with the NDDC but the presence of the Commission in
the University is not up to what we expect.”
Apart from the 522 bed-space hostel at UNIPORT, the NDDC had built and
handed over seven other completed prototype hostels to the Rivers State
University, Port Harcourt, the University of Benin, Imo State
University, Federal University of Science and Technology, Owerri. Delta
State University, Abraka, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, and the
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia State.