Anxiety in Kogi over Natasha’s WAEC Grant as govt allegedly moves to scuttle gesture

The Kogi State government has issued a directive stopping private individuals from paying WAEC fees of students in the state.A statement signed by the Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Campaign Organization (NAUCO) said the directive came few days after the Kogi Central Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate, Barr. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan made a promise to offset WAEC fees of students in Kogi Central senatorial district.

The Executive Chairman of Kogi State Science, Technical Education and Teaching Service Commission, Hon. Cecilia E. Cook, had indicated that the state government took the decision because of the security situation in the country.

The state government warned that any secondary school principal who fails to comply with the instruction will be shown the way out.

The leters reads:

“All principals of public and grant aided schools must obtain permission from the commission for any internal or external programme.

“As a result of the security situation in our nation, all the STETSCOM Zonal directors are directed to inform all the principals in their respective zones, that students’ participation in Zonal programme outside their schools and external programme outside the state is strictly on permission by the authority of STETSCOM.

“The Zonal Directors should sternly warn the Principals in their zone, that should any Principal defaulted this instruction, he or she will certainly and surely be shown the way out.

Strictly comply with this instruction, please”, the letter reads.
The statement recalled that Natasha H Akpoti -Uduaghan on December 11, 2022, declared to donate five million naira to offset WAEC fees of students in Kogi Central to help parents cushion the burden of paying the WAEC fees of their children in the five local government areas of Kogi Central senatorial distinct.

“With this directive of the state government, the students across Kogi Central who would have been beneficiaries of the PDP senatorial candidate’s largesse are the biggest hit of the state government’s order.

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Campaign Organization noted that the decision of Kogi State government to stop the payment of WAEC fees because of security reason is baseless and an attempt to further punish the students whose parents have been denied of their salaries and could not pay their children’s WAEC fees.