N-Delta Students Demand N150,000 Annual Assistance

N-Delta Students Demand N150,000 Annually

COALITION of Niger Delta Students, CONDS, weekend, demanded that students of the region in tertiary institution across the country, who scored a minimum grade point average of 2.5 be paid N150,000 annually by the Ministry of Niger Affairs as Students' Special Assistance Scheme, SSAS.

The student body, in a statement at the end of its quarterly joint executive meeting at Delta State University, Abraka, said the scheme, if introduced, "will go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of students from the Niger Delta region in their academic pursuits."

CONDS, in the statement by its National President, Mr. Israel Uwejeyan and three others, said, "it will also clear the popular belief that it was only by carrying arms that one can get recognised or share from the common wealth of the Niger Delta region.

"If ex-militants in the region can receive like sum or more on a monthly basis, Niger Delta students see no reason why students who have struggled to achieve the 2.5 grade point in tertiary institutions, despite the harsh economic situation amidst the rich natural endowment of the region, should not be given a minimum of N150,000 annually.

"The leadership and students of the Niger Delta region in tertiary institutions across the nation are willing, prepared and capable to pursue this resolve peacefully and legally to a favourable conclusion as we are tired of sitting and watching while only the violent are rewarded from the common wealth of the region."