NUC Short-changed Northerners In Awarding Presidential Scholarships, Says ACF

The Arewa Consultative Forum has accused the National Universities Commission (NUC) of short-changing the North in the disbursement of Nigeria’s presidential scholarship awards, which were announced this week.

In a statement issued by its spokesman, Anthon Sani, following a meeting in Kaduna today, the ACF said that the criteria used to select the candidates appeared designed to exclude those from the Northern states.

“It certainly enabled the NUC to ignore the national consensus on inclusiveness and balance of competing demands among groups and areas of the country,” the statement said.

It wondered why Oyo state, for example has 52 candidates on the list while Sokoto, Yobe, Cross River and the FCT each has none.

“If the NUC had permitted itself to be guided by the need for balanced development of Nigeria, it would not have nominated a preponderance of candidates for this vital programme from Southern states to the near exclusion of the North,” it said, calling on the NUC to correct its mistake if it is indeed a mistake.  

“As presently implemented, it is a disservice to the very objective for which the scheme was set up and to our aspirations as a people,” the Forum said.

Below is the full statement:     

“The attention of the Arewa Consultative Forum has been called to a most curious list of candidates published in the newspapers this week who are said to have qualified for the award of a presidential scholarship for innovation and development. It is a project being implemented by the National Universities Commission.The scheme is designed to train and develop young Nigerians to become entrepreneurs capable of creating jobs, wealth and progress.
 
“However, although the list released by the NUC is on a state by state basis, it is not at all clear that the Commission wanted candidates to come from all parts of the country. The criteria used to select the candidates appear designed to exclude those from the Northern states. It certainly enabled the NUC to ignore the national consensus on inclusiveness and balance of competing demands among groups and areas of the country. If the NUC had permitted itself to be guided by the need for balanced development of Nigeria, it would not have nominated a preponderance of candidates for this vital programme from Southern states to the near exclusion of the North. Oyo state, for example, has 52 candidates while, Sokoto, Yobe, Cross River and the FCT have nil candidates each. The list itself is explanatory.If it is a mistake, NUC should take immediate steps to correct it. As presently implemented, it is a disservice to the very objective for which the scheme was set up and to our aspirations as a people.”