Mr. Chiedu Ebie, the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission Governing Board has recently encouraged the beneficiaries of the 2024/2025 NDDC Foreign Post-Graduate Scholarship Programme to be ambassadors of the Niger Delta region as they represent the country internationally.
The Chairman shared the encouragement while presenting the scholarship letters to meriting individuals during the award ceremony in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He advised those traveling to maximize the opportunity afforded them by acquiring technical expertise for the benefit of the people of the south-south region.
Seledi Thompson-Wakama, the Commission’s Corporate Affairs Director, described the scholarship scheme as an important component of the NDDC’s commitment to human capital development, emphasizing that education was the most powerful weapon for changing the fortunes of the Niger Delta region.
Dr Samuel Ogbuku, the NDDC Managing Director, assured the beneficiaries that the fees for their tuition and accommodation would arrive without delay while encouraging them to be of exemplary conduct. He pointed out that their success was a testament to their resilience as only 200 people were selected through a transparent electronic examination process from an applicant pool of 56,000 persons.
He pointed out that previous beneficiaries of the scholarship program set commendable standards for the current set to take a cue, stating: “You need to come back and add value to the society and make the Niger Deltans proud.”
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Ogbuku encouraged the NDDC scholars to avoid distractions to excel in their studies, saying, “We are sending you out to go and study and come back to impact… the entire Nigerian society for good.”
He reminded the beneficiaries that they owed the Niger Delta a duty to succeed, promising: “Any of our scholars that get a distinction in the Master program stands a chance to be sponsored for a Doctorate program.”
Speaking on behalf of the 2024/2025 beneficiaries, the best-performing student, Mr. Azuka Chinedu, thanked the NDDC for giving them the opportunity to further their education abroad. He pledged that the beneficiaries would do their best to be good representatives of the region and return to contribute to the development of the Niger Delta region.
