By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, on Tuesday raised the alarm over an alleged exclusion of South East region from the Scholarship Program of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in the country.

Disclosing this in a statement, Ogah called on the Executive Secretary of PTDF, Dr. Bello Aliyu Gusau, to review the Corporation’s scholarship program and accommodate the South East geopolitical zone.

He explained that the exclusion of South East from the Scholarship Program, under the guise of security challenges within the region was not proper as other regions facing worse security situation than the South East had been accommodated in the scheme.

The House of Representatives member who described the development as “an act of violation of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the laid down guidelines of the Federal Character Commission, FCC.” He added that if a review of the scholarship program was not urgently done to accommodate the South East, he will institute a legal action against PTDF.

According to him, “I am saying so because, I was elected by the people and will stand to speak for the people as many South Easterners applied for the scholarship.

“They are ready and willing to come for the interview in Abuja, instead of shortchanging them, on the ground that there’s security threat in the South East.

“The South East is not more prone to security threat than other zones in the country as others are being accommodated in the scholarship of PTDF.

“It is an act of hatred and negligence of the zone. I want to ask the management of the PTDF to review the scheme as they are hereby given an ultimatum to reverse its decision on the South East as regarding the Agency’s scholarship program or face court action.

“You say there is security threat in South East and you still held seminars in Enugu, Owerri and Anambra states. Are those areas not South East?

“The act of denying or neglecting South East such scholarship is what tries to increase security threat in the zone. After this call made to PTDF, we will do an open letter to Mr. President to call the Executive Secretary of PTDF to order and revise the scholarship scheme to accommodate the South East zone.”