Kaduna Scholarship Board Advises Unionist To Embrace Dialogue Against Confrontation

Kaduna Scholarship Board Advises Unionist To Embrace Dialogue Against Confrontation

By: Austine Agbo Emmanuel, Kaduna

http://www.newsportng.com.ng The Executive Secretary, (ES) Kaduna State Scholarship Board and Loan, Prof. Yahaya Saleh Ibrahim has advised unionists to embrace dialogue as best approach to remedy important issues of discourse rather than confrontation.

Prof. Saleh gave the advice during the stakeholders interactive session organised by the National Association of Kaduna State Students (NAKASS) in collaboration with Kaduna State Scholarship Board and Loans.

Saleh, while responding to some critical questions raised by the students seeking clarifications to why the board could not pay some of the students for sometimes now, stressed that he believes in transparency and accountability, haven spent his life as student unionist and civil society activist, serving the people and as such promised to tender his resignation peradventure he is found wanting on any ground.

News-Port Nigeria gathered that some of the students could not get their scholarship benefits all these while on the ground that they did not carryout the social registration exercise.

Addressing the students leaders and others at the Kaduna state University, Kaduna on Tuesday, the ES said, “I want to tell you that unionism is about dialogue and not confrontation. Ask me any questions about your scholarship, and I will give you the best of answers. Ask me questions from head to toes and I will give you the answer. I will give you a soft landing answers that your issues will be resolved. If you have anything against me that I violated the tenets of Kaduna state scholarship Board and you have your facts, I swear to God, I will resign.

“If you have your facts, I will resign, I assure you. My door is open and I take responsibility as a leader because I believe in making the society better than enriching myself at the detriment of the society.

“I have heard all your questions. We will take tour of some schools outside Kaduna to take stock of Kaduna State indigenous students in those schools. As ad-hoc provost of KASU, I have done much for the school. Tax clearance has been removed for students to get scholarships. It is now automated. I will give you the best. KASU was allocated N89 million scholarship this session. You will be trained to master English even if you failed essay writing.

“I inherited a system that my signature has not been changed. I hope it will be done soon. I will visit any school that the students have not received scholarships since 2019. I was a unionist and a union person is a better person. You need to understand that what you do with unionism may make or mar you in your future life. So be careful.

“Don’t allow greed to override you, if you do that you are dwarfing your parents. We have expended N35 million at Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria. I have never seen a governor who is so kind to students. I have pledged myself before you that I will do my best for you. As unionists, try to be like late Gambo Sawaba, Fumilayo Kuti, Aminu Kano and so on”. He said.

Former Executive Secretary of the Scholarship Board who is now the Special Adviser to governor Uba Sani on students matters, Hassan Rilwan also spoke, saying, “Our governor’s background has to do with activism and he has demonstrated that with appointment of Special Adviser on students matters. There are policies that are implemented to give the scholarship Board good direction. The aim of scholarship is to help our students graduate.

“During my time we paid medical students tuition fees directly to their respective schools, we paid N2.1 million per student. The essence of scholarships is to pay tuition fees, not students dues in the association. We don’t collect dues on behalf of NAKASS.”

Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the President, NAKASS, Ezra Jonah advised the students to feel free to ask questions bordering on issues of scholarship as that was the essence of the meeting.

Kaduna Scholarship Board Advises Unionist To Embrace Dialogue Against Confrontation