BREAKING: Lagos Indigenous Students Protest Non Payment of Bursary By Gov. Ambode (photos)

The group wondered why the money is yet to be paid despite numerous reports suggesting that the governor of the state, Akinwumi Ambode has approved and released the necessary funds to effect the payment. 

The NULASA president, Okoya Basirat Bisola, in a press conference on Tuesday, 14th of May 2019, accused the government of paying lip services to their demand. 

Bisola said: One major benefit that has continued to accrue to our members from the state government from time immemorial has been the payment of bursary, which covers virtually all students from the state in various schools. 

However, with this refusal of the state government, the situation has become worse and further generate tension within the union with marked anxiety within the rank and file of the union.

She appealed to the outgoing governor, Akinwumi Ambode to see to their demands, adding that the issue of payment of bursary by the state government to students is not in any way a privilege but a right that all indigenous students of Lagos State must enjoy as part of government’s social responsibility to its citizens.

The statement reads in full; 

“Our organization, the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS) was founded by a group of patriotic Nigerians of Lagos State extraction at the premises of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1967. 

“For the records, prominent indigenes (who were then students of various tertiary institutions at that time) saw the need to evolve a common platform to champion and promote the welfare and wellbeing of indigenous students of the state laid the foundation upon which succeeding generations of members and leaders have continued to build on.

“As we look back with pride, let us praise and salute their contributions to the founding and the growth of the Union, which in our own reckoning cannot in anyway be discountenance as history has placed them in the right pedestal because the singular gesture later ensured that similar organsations were to later replicated by students from other states.

 

“Efforts of Pioneer President, Late Justice Muri Okunola; Pioneer Secretary, Akeem Folami and Welfare Officer, Musilliu Adeola Smith just to mention but a few are noteworthy as we, the later day generations are proud of. Since the founding in 1967, NULASS has grown into a body with chapters abroad.

“As stated earlier, the major mandate of NULASS is to ensure that the welfare and wellbeing of members are catered for. One of such is to ensure that whatever is due to our members from the Lagos State Government are given to them through effective liaison with relevant institutions such as the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Lagos State Ministry of Youths & Sports and Lagos State Scholarships Board, the body saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring that approved scholarships and bursaries are paid to indigenous students in various tertiary institutions within and outside the state.

“One major benefit that has continued to accrue to our members from the state government from time immemorial has been the payment of bursary, which covers virtually all students from the state in various schools. I am happy to state that until recently, our members have never had cause to strain our relationship with the state government until now.

“Of particular note, we are expressing our grievances with the seeming reluctance of the state government to effect payment to all our members in the 2017/2018 academic, only 2,106 students who are our members had received their payments. The figure represents about 21 per cent of total fund released by the outgoing government of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

“Though, we wish to place on record, our gratitude to the state government on behalf of students of Lagos State origin in all tertiary institutions across the length and breadth of the nation, for the release of part of the bursary and scholarship funds but we are going further to urge Governor Ambode to ensure that the remaining balance due is released to the Lagos State Scholarship Board for immediate payment to our members.

“This situation has indeed generated tension within the union with marked anxiety within the rank and file of the union. Let me however state that the leadership of the union has however resolved to toe the line of peace and dialogue to resolve the impasse.

“Members of our union are however sad to note that this is the second time this kind of ugly incidence of delayed payment is occurring in the life of the current administration. The first time was in 2017 when the government delayed the payment to us. The hands of government were however forced to act on the issue after series of protests and media campaigns.

“Our approach on this score is two pronged, we have been urging our members to maintain calm while we find lasting solutions to the problem, we have also been engaging officials of the state government with a view to resolving the issue in a manner that would ensure a win-win for all the stakeholders.

“It is noteworthy to state that the leadership of the union has had course to visit the Special Adviser on Education, Mr. Fela Bank-Olemoh, who though sympathetic to our plights has not in any way helped to resolve the issue despite the fact that the issue falls within his purview.

“We have also engaged the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, owing to his perceived closeness to the outgoing governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. Again our efforts failed to reach its desired objective as nothing has since changed.

“In the series of advocacy we have had to wage, we had the cause to interface with members of the state House of Assembly. Specifically, we met with Chairman of the Committee on Education, Hon. Olanrewaju Ogunyemi. Prior to that however, it must be noted that we wrote to the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa for his personal intervention on the matter.

“The only set of responses we got from the Speaker were two separate messages from his Personal Assistant and another one from his Special Adviser.

“Gentlemen of the press, we also regret to inform you that though we did not restrict our advocacy to officials of state alone, we also took our complaints to those who could be termed as elder statesmen in the state for their cherished intervention but their efforts too failed thus prompting the need to let the world know about the frustration that our members are feeling as we speak.

 

“Though, the current administration has limited time left to handing over to the succeeding one, we are however of the view that the Akinwunmi Ambode led government would not want to leave this as an outstanding liability for the next government.

“Let us also state that the issue of payment of bursary by the state government to students is not in any way a privilege but a right that all indigenous students of Lagos State must enjoy as part of government’s social responsibility to its citizens.

“Let the world also know (as stated above) that on our part as the leaders of the union that we have ensured that our teeming membership has maintained the peace due to series of measures that we have put in place to  calm frayed nerves but that it must be stated that there is limit to man’s endurance.