By Monday EBALU, Benin City
The internally displaced persons ,( IDPS) in Edo state camp has appealed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara to redeem the pledge he made last year when he visited the camp.
Dogara visited the IDP camp in Ohogua, near Benin City in 2016 with some members of the House where he promised to pay the enrollment fees of those enrolling for NECO, WASCE and JAMB.
Speaking to newsmen in the camp, some of the IDPs lamented the failure of the speaker to fulfill his promise to them.
According to them “the speaker came to the camp with some of his colleagues and promised to pay for those taking NECO, WASCE and JAMB exams.”
“Our coordinator has been making all efforts to ensure that we are enrolled, but the money for payment is not there”, they explained.
“The whole issues become complicated when a new school session is taking off, the Coordinator have to buy books and other school materials for the students and the pupils.
“We are appealing to the honourable speaker to please look into our issue, so as to save us from the trouble”, they stated.
Meanwhile, the IDPs have also lamented the failure of the Edo state House of Assembly Speaker to redeem his own pledge.
They said, the Speaker came to the camp and openly promised to assist them with the sum of N500, 000 but to their greatest surprise nothing has happened since last year when he visited.
“How do we live by unfulfilled promises, it is really very sad, we need their support as our fathers and mothers. They are our leaders; we have no other hope than theirs”, they stated.
However, no fewer than 65 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) students who graduated from the IDPs’ camp secondary school in Edo state are to write the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board examination to enter the university this year.
The Coordinator of the Camp, Pastor Solomon Folorusho disclosed this while speaking with journalists on the challenges facing the students as schools resumed Monday at the camp in Uhogua community in Ego local government of the Edo state.
He further disclosed that about 200 students would also write the National Examination Council (NECO) and West African School Certificate Examination this year too.
“The students are going to resume soon schools here but we have challenge of writing materials like notebook, textbook, mathematical set, calculator, pencil and biro among others”, they said.
He added, “We need those materials because 65 IDPS students are go to write JAMB while 200 will write NECO and WASC this year. We need to prepare them for the examinations hence we called for financial assistance to see them through the examinations.”
He lamented the difficulty faced by the students in the JAMB registration exercise as according to him they have gone to the registration centre severally without success.
Folorusho appealed to the JAMB authority to come to the aid of the IDPS who are even finding it difficult to transport themselves to the registration centre.
“These children are Nigeria and we have to do every possible to make sure they are educated though it is difficult for us. The state government has handed over blocks of classroom it built to us and Nigeria have been very generous to us in ensuring that the children actualise their dreams,” he said
He however noted that the IDPs have started farming in order not to completely depend on donation from people and complement whatever that is donated to the camp.
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