By IBUKUN EMIOLA

Law students of Oyo State origin have decried the non-payment of the balance of their N500,000 bursary by the state government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Seyi Makinde had, in March, announced the approval of N555 million as 2024/2025 bursary allowances for final year students of the state origin.

Chairman of the State Scholarship Board, Atilola Olawale, who made the announcement on behalf of the governor, said out of the amount, a sum of N214.1 million was approved for the Law students in public tertiary institutions across the country.

Olawale said that the screening exercise for the Law students had been fixed for March 17 to March 20.

NAN, however, gathered that only N250,000 was disbursed to each of the students in May, leaving the balance of N250,000 unpaid.

NAN also reports that social media campaigns with hashtags such as: #BursaryDelay, #PayTheBalance, #StudentsAreWaiting and #FutureOfLaw, have also been launched to pressure the state government to fulfill its promise.

One of the affected students, who pleaded anonymity, said that in spite of the promise given to them that the N250,000 balance would be paid in June, they had not heard anything from the state government.

“Only N250,000 was paid, with the assurance that the remaining N250,000 would follow shortly. Months have passed and we’ve heard nothing since.

“This bursary was not a gift. It was a commitment to support the future of legal education in Oyo State. Please, let your word count,” the student said.

The beneficiaries, who said that some of them were still awaiting even the first tranche, called on the governor and the scholarship board to act swiftly on the payment.

Another student, who also did not want his name in print, said that they had been to the scholarship board, ministry of education, ministry of finance and the office of the accountant-general of the state several times without getting anything concrete on the matter.

The student said that the balance might eventually not be paid by government, given the brick-walls they had met in the course of pursuing the money.

NAN also reports that critics within the students’ body argued that bureaucratic bottlenecks and shifting of timelines might suggest that government was not giving the matter the urgency it deserved.

Another source also hinted that there was a glitch after the payment of the first half of the money, hence the delay in the payment of the balance.

According to them, once a bursary is announced publicly, it becomes a debt to the government and not a privilege to be delayed at will.

Reacting to the development, Chairman of the scholarship board, said that the delay was not from the board but from the ministry of finance.

“I am aware that the students have yet to receive the 50 per cent balance.

“We have done our own part, and the rest is left to the ministry of finance. Until they are ready, there is nothing I can do,” he told NAN.

All efforts by NAN correspondent to get the reaction of the ministry of finance met with a brick-wall, as officials of the ministry declined comment.

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Segun Olayiwola, however, appealed for patience from the Law students awaiting the balance of their bursary.

“They should appreciate the government for the little that it has done and exercise patience.

“They have been paid N250,000 each, and they are not the only ones that we are paying. Final-year students in all public tertiary institutions in Nigeria are also being paid,” he said.

Olayiwola stated that others who were successfully captured during the process had been receiving their payments as well. (NAN)