.Congratulates parents of released girls
By Valentine Amanze
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has congratulated parents of the abducted Dapchi girls that were released Wednesday, March 21, 2018, and sympathized with parents of five of the girls that reportedly died.
He described the abduction of the girls as an indictment on the federal government and their release as “drama scripted by the government and its agents to swindle Nigerians.”
Fayose, while reacting to the release of the abducted school girls, said, “This appears like an arranged abduction and an arranged release, but we thank God that the innocent girls have returned home and we condole with parents of those that died.”
The governor via his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, on Wednesday said that it was strange that the girls could be brought back to Dapchi by their abductors without the security agents knowing when they were returned and who returned them.
His words: “Curiously, the same spirit who made sure that all military checkpoints in Dapchi and other surrounding towns were removed to pave way for abduction of the girls also made sure that the girls were returned without any security agent seeing them.
“One can only be hopeful that the real script writers behind this drama will be exposed one day.
“Nigerians should recall that the Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Geidam, said that military checkpoints were withdrawn from Dapchi and other communities a few days before the abduction of the 110 girls.
This was also corroborated by the Amnesty International in its report that was published in the newspapers yesterday.
“Specifically, Amnesty International said that security forces failed to act on advance warnings that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading to Dapchi town and that between 2:00pm and 6:00pm on
February 19, 2018, calls were made to tell the security services that the Boko Haram insurgents were in the Dapchi area.
“No doubt, withdrawal of military check-points from Dapchi and other communities, few days before the 110 students were abducted and failure of the security forces to act on advance warnings exposed the
conspiracy of the federal government and its agents in the abduction of the school girls and other dastardly acts of the insurgents.
“Interestingly, no one was questioned up till now despite conflicting claims by the army and police as well as the damning report by the
Amnesty International that between 2:00pm and 6:00pm on February 19, 2018, calls were made to tell the security services that the Boko Haram insurgents were in the Dapchi area.”
The governor, who reiterated the allegation that Boko Haram insurgency had become source of treasury looting, said, “Those benefitting from
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) scams, payment of ransom (in dollars) to free those abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents, among others will never wish to see the end of the insurgency.”
Meanwhile, Governor Fayose has approved N253.6 million for 2017/2018 Bursary and Scholarship awards to qualified students in the state, with 871 students getting scholarship award ranging from N60,000 to N1.5 million while 2,645 got bursary award ranging from
N10,000 to N150,000.
Thirty oversea PhD students will get N1,500,000 each as scholarship amounting to N45 million, 184 Law Students will receive N150,000 each as Bursary, amounting to N27.6 million while 450 undergraduate students will get N60,000 each as scholarship, amounting to N27 million.
The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Jide Egunjobi, who made this known in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, explained that 15 Physically Challenged students will get N60,000 as scholarship while 198 students offering Masters Degree in Nigeria will receive N250,000.
“17 Oversea Masters Degree students will also get NN500, 000 each, while 160 PhD Students (Nigeria) will receive N750,000,” he said.