Abuja — Some Nigerian students studying in the United Kingdom under a scholarship scheme being operated by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) have alleged that there was duplicity with respect to their school fees, housing rent and other allowances.

LEADERSHIP checks revealed that some of the new students are yet to receive their allowances, while some are still sharing rooms (squatting), one month after their arrival in the UK.

Some of the students who spoke to our reporters on condition of anonymity lamented that their condition was far from being abated as the communication gap between them and the PTDF was as wide as the distance between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

"The PTDF neither acknowledges e-mails nor sometimes even pick up calls from us. As it is now, most of the new scholars like myself do not even know if their e-mails had been received or not," one of the aggrieved scholars told our correspondent in a telephone chat.

The student maintained that there was a difference in allowances paid to the old students and that paid to the new students, adding that this was in spite of the fact that they live in the same country and were subject to the same conditions of living.

One aggrieved student said, "Housing rent, unlike the allowances, is paid directly to the service providers. Some students are still squatting one month after their arrival in the UK. Even some of the old students cannot verify whether their rents have been paid or not. Some had to pay from their allowances as the landlords have threatened to throw them out after several promises were made.

"The non-payment of rent is making most landlords place stringent conditions for renewal of contracts, which will further compound an already bad situation," he added.

The PTDF, according to a female scholar in the UK, had promised it would pay quarterly, half and a full year rent at once, a position that was communicated to the landlords, but it had so far been difficult to ascertain whether such promises would be fulfilled.

She added, "Such a situation could cause credibility problems for the scholars."

But in a swift reaction, the PTDF has spurned the allegation.

Its Executive Secretary, Engr. Muttagha Rabe Darma, said the department responsible for the payment had last Tuesday paid the sum of 117, 000 pounds sterling to the bank in order to pay for the remaining 76 students who, according to him, were people making such comments that they had not been paid.

He said, "For Phd students, we paid three months in advance with all other allowances. What remains now is for the month of December, for which we have prepared the vouchers and will be paid today.

"Most of the students are the one delaying the payment. Look at this letter from one of the students from the UK. I received this letter which provided the details of the way he should be paid but he wants miracles to be performed today.

"I won't have addressed you (referring to LEADERSHIP's reporter) but we are serving humanity and I feel that I should show you the files so that you can see for yourself.

"My staff and I spend sleepless nights, trying to see that all students under the scheme get their entitlement not only on time but also regularly."

Darma further said some people found their way to the UK not under the PTDF scholarship and always made some frivolous statements about the organisation.

The executive secretary said in order to increase the number of students seeking overseas scholarship, the PTDF had no choice than to disengage the services of a consulting company, Univation Limited, in order to save over N300 million yearly.

According to him, this was the best method which led to the increase of the number of students that gained scholarship to study in the UK this year.

He said, "Look at this letter sent by a minister, requesting us to support this man who found his way to a UK school. Of course, as an agency, we could help such people but not within seven days as often required by most of them.

"So, in everything we do, we always follow due process. It was our initiative to disengage the consultant to enable us sponsor additional 30 students. We just sponsored 450, with the number now increasing more than the last seven years. Before the end of this month, their allowances will be paid into their accounts."