Law students from Oyo State have expressed concern over the government’s failure to release the remaining half of their ₦500,000 bursary entitlement.
Gov. Seyi Makinde had, in March, announced the approval of ₦555 million as 2024/2025 bursary allowances for final-year students of Oyo origin.
Chairman of the State Scholarship Board, Atilola Olawale, who made the announcement on behalf of the governor, said out of the amount, a sum of ₦214.1 million was approved for the Law students in public tertiary institutions across the country.
Olawale said that the screening exercise for the Law students had been fixed for March 17 to March 20.
It was later gathered that only ₦250,000 was disbursed to each of the students in May, leaving the balance of ₦250,000 unpaid.
Students have since launched social media campaigns with hashtags such as: #BursaryDelay, #PayTheBalance, #StudentsAreWaiting and #FutureOfLaw, to pressure the state government to fulfill its promise.
One of the affected students, who pleaded anonymity, said that in spite of the promise given to them that the ₦250,000 balance would be paid in June, they had not heard anything from the state government.
“Only ₦250,000 was paid, with the assurance that the remaining ₦250,000 would follow shortly. Months have passed and we’ve heard nothing since.
“This bursary was not a gift. It was a commitment to support the future of legal education in Oyo State. Please, let your word count,” the student said.
The beneficiaries, who said that some of them were still awaiting even the first tranche, called on the governor and the scholarship board to act swiftly on the payment.
Another student, who also did not want his name in print, said that they had been to the scholarship board, ministry of education, ministry of finance and the office of the accountant-general of the state several times without getting anything concrete on the matter.
The student said that the balance might eventually not be paid by government, given the brick-walls they had met in the course of pursuing the money.
Some students argued that bureaucratic delays and repeated postponements suggested the state government was not treating the issue with urgency.
Another source also hinted that there was a glitch after the payment of the first half of the money, hence the delay in the payment of the balance.
According to them, once a bursary is announced publicly, it becomes a debt to the government and not a privilege to be delayed at will.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of the scholarship board, said that the delay was not from the board but from the ministry of finance.
“I am aware that the students have yet to receive the 50 per cent balance.
“We have done our own part, and the rest is left to the ministry of finance. Until they are ready, there is nothing I can do,” he said.
Efforts to obtain the ministry of finance’s position were unsuccessful, as officials declined to comment.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Segun Olayiwola, however, appealed to the Law students for understanding regarding the pending balance.
He noted that the students had already received half of the approved amount and assured that the government was working to meet its broader obligations to all final-year students in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria.