1,000 Gbaramatu students demand rehabilitation grant

By Emma Amaize
WARRI—OVER 1,000 students of tertiary institutions from Gbaramatu kingdom in Delta State have appealed to the state government to give them a special rehabilitation grant to enable them to continue with their education in view of the fact that the means of livelihood of their parents/guardians have been destroyed following the recent military operation in the area by the Joint Task Force on the Niger Delta.

National president of the National Association of Gbaramatu Students (NAGS), Comrade Jackson Timiyian, in a statement in Warri, particularly called on the Delta state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Udaghan, the chairman of Warri South -West local government area, Rehabilitation Committee for displaced Gbaramatu citizens, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and well-meaning Deltans to come to the aid of the students.

He said:  “NAGS,  which has a membership of  over 1,000  students in the various higher institutions of learning in Nigeria, with about 250 students in Delta State University, 220 in Niger Delta University, 70 students in College of Education,  Warri and 60 students in the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI),  Effurun, just to mention a few, are  currently suffering from the recent act of JTF bombardment of the communities in Gbaramatu kingdom,  which has led to the incapacitation of the livelihood of their parents and guardians.

“We are also using this medium to heartily appreciate the amiable effort of our governor,  Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and every other person who worked tirelessly to ensure the return of  Gbaramatu people’s return to their communities.”