Politics
RVHA, RSSDA And Overseas Medical Students
In the exercise of its over
sight
function, the Rivers State House of Assembly recently summoned the executive
Director of the State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Mr. Noble Pepple
to appear before the lawmakers on its overseas scholarship programme.
The invitation was sequel to a petition by the students of
Rivers oversea medical programme in the united Kingdom through their parents,
alleging that the RSSDA took the 2008 batch of foreign medical students to
Britain and abandoned them to their fate.
Upon the presentation of the petition on the floor of the
Assembly, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, directed the House
Committee on public complaints and petition to investigate the allegations
contained in the petition. Titled “The plight of Rivers State Government
sponsored medical students in the United Kingdom (2008 batch) to complete their
MBBS programme”.
Based on the issues canvassed in the said petition, the
committee was given two weeks to investigate the matter and report their
finding to the House for necessary intervention.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda and his
members went to work immediately and submitted their report in record time.
The findings of the Committee raised a lot of questions during
debate and that precipitated the resolution of the Assembly to invite the RSSDA
Executive Director via a unanimous voice vote by members.
The date was Wednesday, August 22, 2012, the Chamber created
an atmosphere of a tensed situation, suspense laced with mixed expectations as
the scenario and the gallery looked as if prospective commissioners were
undergoing screening. And to set the tone for the day’s business, the clerk of
the Assembly read out only two items in the order paper, namely the presentation
of Education Committee report on the outcome of its public hearing on the
Rivers State Education Quality Assurance Agency Bill, and the appearance of the
RSSDA Executive Director over the plight of State Government-sponsored medical
students in the United Kingdom.
The House Committee Chairman on education, Hon. Augustine
Ngo, delivered his report and debate was deferred to Monday August 27, 2012.
meanwhile, the bill has been passed by the lawmakers to give credence to
government vision of improving the standard of education to justify the huge
investment in the sector.
To set the stage for the item, the Leader of the House, Hon.
Chidi Lloyd, moved a motion to allow the RSSDA boss and his officials access
the hallowed Chamber as well as parents of the embattled students.
In the report submitted and adopted as working document of
the Assembly, Chairman of the House Committee on public complaints and
Petition, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda, held that the petitioners were the first
batch of 2008 set of students sent to United Kingdom under the RSSDA’s overseas
medical programe.
Unfortunately, they were denied direct admission to study
medicine due to non-possession of A’level certificates.
As a result of this deficiency, they were enrolled into
foundation programmes in order to prepare them for direct admission into
medical schools in UK, but the late commencement of the preparatory programme
coupled with the government’s policy of limited space for foreign students,
none of the 2008/2009 batch succeeded in gaining admission to study medicine.
The Committee noted that following the development, the
students were subsequently admitted into school of Bio-medical sciences of the
University of Newcastle, UK and they obtained Bachelor of Science (B.Sc),
degrees in Pharmacology, Physiology, Bio-Chemistry, Micro-Biology, Bio-Medical
Sciences collectively referred to as premedical degrees.
However, to achieve their dream of becoming medical doctors,
the students approached the institution for admission but were rather offered
placements in Malaysia-based Newscastle University Medical School campus.
Surprising to the students, the authorities of RSSDA failed
to recognise the admission on the ground that the institution was not
accredited and issued them notification letters for their return back home,
having completed first degree programmes abroad.
As if the trauma of the students were not enough, the Agency
disbursed only £400 (four hundred pounds) to about 50 per cent of the students
in the programme out of their normal £800 (eight hundred pounds) monthly upkeep
and accommodation allowance.
The RSSDA team on the floor of the Assembly were the
Executive Director, Coordinator of the overseas scholarship, Mr. Godwin Poi,
and a professional U.K.-based consultant, Mrs blessing Tasie.
Although, the central cooling system of the Assembly was
working at optimum capacity, those who appeared before it were visibly
perspiring profusely as they battled to give cogent answers to the issues at
stake.
Members of the House put a few questions to the officials of
the Agency: the questions included which admission letter(s) the agency used to
secure UK Visa for the students?, who screened the students and found them
qualified for UK medical schools admission? Was the Agency not aware that they possessed
O’level and not A’level certificates before inviting them for their strict
aptitude test which the students passed? And what was the role of the UK based
consultant, Mrs Blessing Tasie, to the agency on the admission procedures
stipulated for medicine and the fact that only seven per cent placement was
reserved for all foreign students in Uk as a government policy?
Mrs Tasie was tongue-lashed for her inability to discharge
the responsibility placed on her shoulders, while Mr. Godwin Poi, struggled
fruitlessly to provide satifactory answers to the issues raised.
The more he tried, the more loopholes were created.
However, Mr. Pepple explained that during the period under
discussion, he was not part of the agency but acknowledged the failures which he
noted were regrettable and hinged his defence on the fact that 2008 batch was a
test case, coupled with the pressure to immediately kick start the programme.
He explained that the agency has since acquired a lot of
experience after the first experiment and therefore, has not recorded any more
case of this nature.
The RSSDA boss told the lawmakers that if any of the
premedical graduates secures admission on their own to study medicine in Uk,
the agency may be willing to sponsor, while promising to offset the areas of
the students upkeep allowance, subject to release of funds.
The Assembly, therefore, allied itself with the fears
expressed by the students and their parents of possible abandonement on return
and resolved that RSSDA should work cooperately with the premedical graduates
to seek for admission in any other of the nine countries covered by the
scholarship programme instead of limiting it to UK medical schools, adding that
it will help the students fulfill their ambition of becoming medical doctors and
contribute to the needed manpower in the health sector.
The lawmakers accepted the recommendation of the committee
that the agency maintains its stand on the Malaysia Medical School campus of
the Newscastle Unviersity as state funds should not be spent to acquire
unaccredited medical degrees.
They equally resolved that since their Visas will expire in
December 2012, they should return home while RSSDA collaborates with them to
get another admission and fully sponsor, in view of the fact that the fault was
not from the students.
The House also expressed appreciation that all the students
performed well in the programmes they were enrolled in and urged the affected
premedical degree graudates to remain grateful to the state government for the
opportunity and seeing them through the four-year academic sponsorship in spite
of the temporary set back.
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor