From Abba Dukawa
The Senate on Tuesday, urged the Federal Government to impose sanctions on officials responsible for the pains and sufferings Nigeria students in countries abroad are facing.
It, therefore, summoned the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and the leadership of the Federal Scholarship Board over the delay in the payment of outstanding grants to the students.
The upper legislative chamber also asked Tahir to provide a detailed report on the status of all Nigerian students under international scholarship programmes, including a breakdown of their unpaid entitlements.
The Senate in plenary on Tuesday asked its President, Godswill Akpabio, to urgently carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and ensure that necessary measures were taken to rectify the situation promptly.
First Year Of President Bola Tinubu’s Administration: Ministers Give Account0:08 / 1:01
The resolution of the Senate followed a motion on a matter of urgent importance moved by the lawmaker representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Salihu Mustapha.
He said, “These scholarships are part of a broader initiative to promote specialised education through partnerships with foreign institutions, facilitated by entities such as the Federal Scholarship Board, under the Federal Ministry of Education
This initiative supports the government’s commitment to Bilateral Education Agreementsd and Multilateral Agreements with the Commonwealth and other international partners.
“There are reports of Nigerian students facing hardships in Algeria, China, Morocco, Russia and the United Kingdom due to non-payment of tuition and living stipends, leading to negative media coverage and national embarrassment.
“The recurrence of these issues suggests systemic failures, despite previous interventions by this distinguished chamber to prevent such situations.”
He added “The Federal Government’s failure to meet its financial commitments under these international agreements for over 10 months will jeopardise the welfare and academic progress of the affected students.
“The failure to fulfil these obligations not only undermines our national reputation but also poses significant diplomatic concerns and risks, pushing our students towards unlawful activities to sustain their livelihood abroad.
Senate seeks cryptocurrency regulation
The Senate Committee on Capital Markets has called for the regulation of cryptocurrency to ensure some level of accountability and protection of investor’s funds.
The Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Osita Izunaso, said this when he briefed newsmen in Abuja after the committee screened Dr. Emomotimi Agama, the newly appointed Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and three executive commissioners behind closed door.
“The issue of cryptocurrency must be regulated because Nigerians are trading in crypto.
“Since Nigerians are trading in crypto, why are we not regulating it? Where is the money going if we don’t regulate activities in the crypto market?
“You can’t stop them from trading in the crypto market. So because we can’t stop them, you have to regulate it,” he said.
He also said that investing in the stock exchange and capital market would help to boost Nigeria’s economy.
Izunaso added that “President Bola Tinubu has told Nigerians that he is looking for a N1 trillion economy. That can only be done through the stock exchange, through the capital market.
“And I believe that we are going to see more government activities in stock exchange, capital market, commodities exchange, and crypto.
“This is because these are the areas that will further inject money into the system,” saying “because the problem we have is the problem of liquidity, we don’t have enough money, we don’t have enough liquidity in the system.”
He added, “That is what is crushing the naira and making the naira so little when it’s competing with other currencies. But if we develop our capital market, and develop our crypto market, we will bring more liquidity into the system.
“That will help to cushion all the problems we have.”
Also speaking, Agama promised to accelerate the development of the capital market in a manner that would boost wealth creation, attract investments, and create jobs for Nigerians.
“We are bringing on board innovation, and development. We are going to change the narrative of the Nigerian capital market.
“We are going to turn it around. That is the essence of our appointment by President Bola Tinubu. With this team, we assure Nigerians that we’re going to do the best that the President has the desire to do.
“So, we should all wait to see what is going to happen. We desire to move this market forward. And to help in achieving the President’s N1 trillion economy in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Speaking further, he stated, “Yes, the President is going to be a year in office in a few days. That is remarkable because as an anniversary giver, the President has given us to Nigerians to do the best to change the market,”
Agama also said that the commission would introduce innovative programmes that would create world-class companies in such a way that would ensure the redistribution of wealth.
