By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — PIONEER National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Anietie   Okon   yesterday   condemned in very strong terms, the 254 names published by the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta as successful beneficiaries of the Special Scholarship Programme for students from the Niger Delta region who passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

According to him, the overwhelmingly skewed nature of the list as published was not only unacceptable to the people of Akwa Ibom State, but a clear affront on the psychic of Akwa Ibom people and capable of fracturing the commonality of purpose of the people of the State and the region.

Speaking with Vanguard, Senator Aniete Okon, a delegate representing Akwa Ibom State at the on-going national conference while reacting to the list, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to as a matter of urgency draw the attention of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku to what he termed a grave and unacceptable anomaly.

The office of the Special Adviser on Niger Delta had on Friday, August 1, 2014 published a list of 254 names as successful beneficiaries of the Special Scholarship Programme for students from the Niger Delta region who passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME and therefore qualified for admission into Nigerian Universities.

According to the published list, out of a total of 254 beneficiaries, Akwa Ibom got 3; Bayelsa 102; Cross River, 3; Delta 55; Edo, 10; Imo, 10; Ondo, 43 and Rivers, 28.

Speaking further, Senator Okon said it was embarrassing for a state like Akwa Ibom, to be allocated only 3; Edo State 10, while Bayelsa got 102.