Indigent Varsity Students To Miss Graduation As Edo IDPs Camp Begs Okpeholo For Help

The Coordinator of the Home for the Needy Foundation in Edo State, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, has raised the alarm over the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) studying at Western Delta University Oghara, Delta State, saying many of them have been barred from sitting for final exams and prevented from graduating alongside their colleagues.

Folorunsho said the situation at the IDPs camp was “disturbing, discouraging and completely unfair.”

He revealed that even after Governor Monday Okpebholo’s daughter and the Edo State Commissioner for Education intervened and personally paid the fees of one of the affected students, the student was still unable to graduate because his name had allegedly been removed from the graduating list.

He said, “As we speak, the children are very frustrated. About 13 final-year students have left out of anger, and I don’t even know where some of them are now. Some of them are in Nursing, Law, Accounting and other courses.

“As I am talking to you right now, about 10 of them are at home now and are looking for money to pay for hostel accomodations while others are squatting with their friends. The funniest thing is that the school doesn’t want us to talk to the media about their plight.”

He explained that some have now returned to the IDPs camp, stranded and unable to afford accommodation.

The camp coordinator further alleged that the university has been pressuring the camp management not to reveal the situation to the media, adding that the institution had even issued a written warning instructing them not to speak publicly about their plight.

“If we don’t talk to the press, how will the public know what is happening to these children? With the media, people will be able to know what we are going through,” he stated.

He also reminded the Edo State Government of the strong electoral support the IDPs camp gave to the ruling party during the last governorship election.

He noted that the camp delivered what he described as one of the highest vote counts for the APC in the state. “We suffered for the party. People who opposed the party are being welcomed and rewarded, but those who stood by it have been forgotten.”

He appealed to Governor Okpeholo to personally visit the camp and address the challenges facing the displaced families.

The camp coordinator pointed out that former Governor Adams Oshiomhole had built the school within the camp, which has produced hundreds of graduates, including more than 100 currently studying at the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

“We need the governor to come and do something big for us. We have orphans and widows here. Our children need food. These are displaced persons.”

He also commended the infrastructural development across the state, especially the new flyover at Ikpoba Hill.

“The other day I passed Ikpoba Hill and I was very excited at the flyover and other infrastructural developments in the state. It is our prayer that God continues to guide him to do the right thing for the people of Edo State,” Folorunsho prayed.