The Office of the Senate President, National Association of Nigerian
Students (NANS) writes, first and foremost, to categorically condemn the
continued non payment of SIWES Allowance to students who had
participated in the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)
from 2010 - 2015 by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
Secondly,
the Office of the Senate President, NANS, writes to demand for the full
probe of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) by the Economic Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) for non payment of ITF stipends to students
from 2010 - 2015.
The National Association of Nigerian Students
(NANS), upon carrying out an extensive and rigorous investigation across
various institutions in Nigeria, wishes to state in unequivocal terms
that evidences exist beyond reasonable doubt that there is a systemic
and endemic fraud being perpetuated at the ITF National
Headquarters,Jos, Plateau State in partnership with the respective ITF
offices in each state of the federation.
During the course of the
nationwide investigation carried out by the Office of the Senate
President, NANS, evidences/documents were obtained showing approval and
disbursement of fund for the payment of SIWES Allowance for 2010 - 2015
SIWES set of students by the Federal Government.
The various ITF
offices in each state of the federation has, over the years, been
diverting hard earned stipend which students are entitled to under the
pretense of 'inaccurate bank details' submitted by the students. This
illegality is in connivance with the various commercial banks anchoring
the SIWES Allowance payment. We call on the EFCC to also beam the
agency's searchlight on all banks handling the payment of SIWES
Allowance to Nigerian students. Any bank found culpable in this
unethical practice should be duly sanctioned.
Furthermore, the
Office of the Senate President, NANS, also discovered instances of SIWES
Allowance being lodged with the ITF office, Jos, Plateau State. This is
a well calculated attempt to divert, loot, and siphon the only form of
subsidy being enjoyed by Nigerian students by the top echelons of ITF.
There
is no moral justification, nor financial analogy for the non payment of
SIWES Allowance to Nigerian students. We call on the ITF to learn from
the swift, clean and efficient payment portal deployed by NYSC in the
payment of monthly Corps members allowance with little or no fuss.
There
should be a collaborative, cooperative, productive and positive synergy
between various Ministries and MDAs of the Federal Government for
effective implementations of various policies to better the lives of the
Nigerian students and masses. NANS finds it unacceptable, unpalatable,
unprofessional and corruption-riddled if the process of payment of
ITF/SIWES Allowance takes an average of THREE years from disbursement by
the Federal Government to receipt by students!
NANS finds it
unpatriotic on the part of the ITF as an agency and top ITF officials
bringing this untoward hardship on Nigerian students for any student not
to get paid for his/her complete the 6-month of I.T. scheme.
Finally,
the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is giving a
two-week ultimatum to the ITF for the immediate commencement of payment
of all outstanding SIWES Allowance from 2010 - 2015. Failure to commence
the payment will leave us with no choice than to mobilise across all
campuses in each state to stage a coordinated protest at the various ITF
offices in every state to air our grievances over the non payment of
the SIWES Allowance. The association would not hesitate to fully
activate our nationwide mobilisation machineries to stage a grand
protest at the ITF National Headquarter, Jos, Plateau State.
Signed:
Comrade Bamigbade Taiwo 'Egalitarian'
Senate President,
National Association of Nigerian Students
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