By Endurance Onun
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has raised its study allowance from $30,000 (N24 million) to $40,000 (N32 million).
This was disclosed by the Commission’s MD/CEO, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, earlier last week when he visited Golden Tulip Hotel, Port Harcourt, venue for the oral interview for applicants of the NDDC foreign postgraduate scholarship programme.
The scholarship programme had 5000 applicants sit for its Computer Based Test (CBT) but only 1050 were selected for the oral interview and only 200 are expected to be awarded the scholarship.
Ogbuku also announced that come next year (2024) the Commission will introduce a local postgraduate scholarship programme to fend for those unable to secure the foreign postgraduate scholarship programme.
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Disclosing why the commission has not increased the number of its foreign scholarship beneficiaries, the NDDC boss said: “We increased the allowance for the studies from thirty $30,000.00(N24 million) to $40,000.00 (N32 million) and this affected our finances, making it necessary to create a balance.
“However, from next year we hope to reduce the number of foreign scholarships because of the high foreign exchange rate, but we will introduce scholarships for undergraduate students in Nigerian universities.
“This will enable us to accommodate more persons in the scholarship programme.”
The scholarship has been ongoing over time now and has helped a lot of students secure their Master’s and Doctorate degrees overseas.
