As the first tenure of Bayelsa State Governor, Sen. Douye Diri’s prosperity administration rounds up with prospects of continuity, having won a landslide victory at the recent 2023 Governorship poll, Erevision MediaTV sought to know the state of affairs in some critical areas of the educational sector.

In this interview, Erevision MediaTV’s Chief Correspondent Mr. Robinson Erebi spoke exclusively with the Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State Higher Education Students Loan Board Dr. Michael Amaegberi on implementation of the scheme and other political issues.

Excerpts:

My name is Robinson Ere Erebi and I’m reporting for Erevision MediaTV.  May we meet you sir?

Dr. Amaegberi:  My name is Dr. Michael Amaegberi and I’m the Executive Secretary, Bayelsa Higher Education Students Loan Board.

Robinson:  So how has it been sir?

Amaegberi: The journey has been so good. We’ve had our own challenges and challenges will always be there, but we thank God that we have a government that is very, very interested in the academic welfare of our students. So, we’ve enjoyed tremendous support from the government, of course, our major source of income is from the government. So, government has been very supportive, and so far, we can say that we’re doing very well.

Robinson:  How did it start…how did the Board come about?

Dr. Amaegberi:  Okay. The Students Loan Scheme as you’re aware and as Bayelsans now know, effectively commenced operations in 2019 after it was launched in December of that year, but we started giving loans to students in 2020, at the twilight of the administration of His Excellency, now Senator Henry Seriake Dickson.  He was actually the one that established the loan board. And at the tail end of his administration was when we started disbursing this loans.  But when the Prosperity Governor, the “miracle” Governor took office, in fact, he became more deliberate in funding our activities. And by the special grace of God from that time till now, over seven thousand students have benefited from the Students Loan Scheme and we’re still counting. We’re hoping that  now that he has even won second term in office, it can only get better.

Robinson:  What does it take for one to access the scholarship?:

Dr. Amaegberi:  Okay…sorry, it’s not scholarship. It’s a loan. It’s an interest free loan. Yes students come here. For now, what we’re doing is manual application. Students come here, they apply. They take application forms, they fill it. Once they meet all the requirements…one of the requirements is that you must be a Bayelsans first of all. The second is that you must have gained administration into a university. A government owned university within Nigeria. And then you have your identification letter of course, and then you must produce two guarantors for us to contact just in case we cannot find you. And then you have a bank account. So that’s basically, those are the requirements. A few other requirements you need to go to the court to swear an affidavit that is stamped that you’re actually abiding to our terms and conditions.  So those are he simple steps that you need to take. Yeah, the law says that you must have one of the guarantors as a civil servant of grade level 12 and above. But we listened to the cries of Bayelsans that most of the civil servants are not willing to sign and that means that they’re not going to be benefitting so we tried to bend over backwards to accommodate all people, you know, all students that come here whether they have civil servants or not, you know, as guarantors, we still consider them as long as you’re a Bayelsans and you’re able to produce two people, two credible persons that will verify, and of course, they also submit their passports as well as their ID card for us to know where they’re working and all of that. Then for the students, they also come with their bank verification printout.  So whatever it is, you know, we have a secure system where we can always trace these people to wherever they are. That’s how we’ve been operating so far. But, you know, going forward, we’re hoping that by January we want to launch the online application portal.6 So that we don’t need to deal with physical students as they come. We have our verification team that would verify whatever information that is supplied online, then we just pay online as it where. So we’ll not be having students  coming physically, crowding our office and all of that. So that’s where we’re trying to go. We’re trying to go digital so that even if you’re in Maiduguri you don’t need to come down and get a physical form. You can just go to our portal, once the portal is open and you apply and get paid as soon as we finish the processing, we pay you. That’s where we’re going now.

Robinson:  Okay, so far about seven thousand students have enrolled in the…

Amaegberi: (cuts in) …Yes, yes, more than seven thousand.

Robinson:  Yeah, based on our population, is it that people are not aware of the scheme or is it that they don’t have guarantors to sign for them. What’s their reasons, why are they not signing for people so that more students can have access to this very laudable scheme?

Dr. Amaegberi:  Well, em…I think that seven thousand for now is not a bad number. We still have a lot of forms that we’re paying. As I’m speaking to you now we want to pay some more students in NDU. And so every month, you know, we’re paying students. And so I cannot say that seven thousand students, from only Bayelsa o! Bayelsa indigenes benefiting from a system that has operated effectively for about three years is not a small figure to speak.  The total number of Bayelsa student we cannot ascertain as a Board now, but we know that not everybody expected to also come for the loan, you know.  We can have maybe twelve thousand or twenty thousand Bayelsa students but only those who need it, who really are finding it difficult to pay school fees, do you understand? It’s only those who really need it and are finding it difficult to pay school fees that are expected to come here. So not all Bayelsans would come even though we do not discriminate, even if your father is well to do, but as long as you come here and apply for the loan we feel that you need it so we’ll pay. But then, we always encourage people who actually need this loan, and we have actually seen people would say “no, I don’t want the loan. I can take care of my fees”. So it is not a free, it’s a loan that is repayable. And of course, the only good side of it is that whenever you’re repaying, you’re not paying with interest. You’re only paying the same amount but it’s even going to be pro-rated, you pay little by little, not that you’re going to pay all at once. So that’s he good side of the whole thing. But while it is open for all Bayelsa State students, we still know that not all the students would need the loan.

Robinson:  Thank you very much.  We’re very much aware that this scheme has helped a lot of parents in Bayelsa State. It’s not easy for people to raise money, even if you have to get loan from the banks…getting guarantors, getting collateral is not easy and I think it’s a very laudable project.  But now we at the twilight of this administration, what are your expectations in the years ahead, particularly with the Governor coming for a second tenure?

Dr. Amaegberi: Well, the Governor in about four years now, we know has done very well.  He has done very well in the area of infrastructure. Of course, construction of roads is one of his priorities and he’s actually taking the roads down to the hinterlands…our local government headquarters in the past, which has not been connected with roads.  Ekeremor now, we can drive to Ekeremor and the other road from Ekeremor to Agge I think is being awarded. We can now drive to Angiama in Southern Ijaw, the bridge crossing to the local government headquarters, Oporoma is being constructed. The road to Brass is also being sand filled and progress is being made. So em… a lot of work has been done. Beyond infrastructure even within the State capital a lot of road networks, you know, here and there.  The government has paid so much attention to education. Education is one other critical area that the Governor has done very well. And even as he’s winding up, he’s not relenting. In fact, as far as he’s concerned he wants to finish very strong. So even till the last day of his administration it would be like the first day of his administration.  So he’s not relaxing because he has won election. And today, I think he has just presented a budget. If you look at that budget too, a lot of attention has been given to infrastructure, education, health. Health is another critical area that the Governor has done, you know, building hospitals, health care centers, and of course, you’re conversant with the Health Insurance Scheme where befitting structure was built and that scheme is doing very well. We have the Education Development Trust Fund which is also taking care of Secondary Schools – their needs, feeding and so on. So a lot, a lot, a lot, and of course the technical college is there.  This administration is a prosperity administration and he’s paying so much attention to technical know-how. He want Bayelsans to be equipped with skills, you know. So that they’ll be able to be providing services to whoever needs them. It’s not about everybody going to school,  coming out and looking for employment everywhere. What he wants is for Bayelsans to have the relevant skills both in oil industry and other places, you know. You’re aware of the Diri skills acquisition programme that is also in place where a lot of people have learnt how to make soap, make hair, learnt how to cook and all of that. A lot of things are…and Bayelsans are happier. You know, when you have skills and you’re able to put these skills to use, you don’t need to look for somebody to come and employ you to get money. Everyday you can do something and make money. So a lot is being done in the area of empowering our people to be independent.  And of course, there’s also this scheme where every month Douye Diri, you know, makes provision of about  150 – 200 thousand naira to three persons per Ward in the one hundred and give Wards in Bayelsa. That’s a lot of money going into entrepreneurship.  Governor Diri has done so much and that’s why Bayelsans overwhelming voted for him to return for a second term. And I believe that as we’re going into the second term, you know, things will get better.  Bayelsans would live better lives, prosperity indeed, will come to Bayelsa. I think the budget now is budget of “shared prosperity” or so. Consolidation and shared prosperity. I think that Bayelsans will enjoy good governance. Of course, you can see that there’s peace and stability in Bayelsa State. The Governor is a man of peace and his peaceful demeanor has attracted him to every Bayelsan. That’s why they voted for him massively, and he had that landslide victory over the APC in the last election. And so, all I can say is that Bayelsans have done well by voting Governor Douye Diri and it’s going to get better, hopefully in the next four years that he’s going to be in the saddle in Bayelsa State.

Robinson:  Are there any challenges that you encountered?

Amaegberi: Well of course! Everything would have its own challenges. Challenges would just be in terms of funding. Funding may just be the major challenges. Our core function, our core responsibility here is to make sure that every Bayelsan who applied for his loan, you know. Who has come to say I’m finding it difficult to pay school fees should be able to get something to pay his fees. That’s the core responsibility that we have, and of course, you know that that is about money being made available.  So once funds are available, we’ll always meet our obligations.  And like I said, Governor Diri has been very deliberate in making sure that every month, you know, we have something to fund our responsibilities.  The other side of it is that sometimes we get overwhelmed by the number of applications. So, we have a situation where some people would apply for a month, two months, they’ve not been paid. Those are issues, but I believe that in the coming year we’re going to fashion out a way wherein applications would not be lying down here for three four months.  When we start the portal, what we intend to do is that once we’re able to get to applications that we’re able to pay for that month, we’ll just close he portal for that period, and then open it after we have treated to those ones and paid them.  So that anytime you open the portal and you’re able to apply early and we get to that number, we just shut the portal down and then we process the ones that we can pay so that at every time, once you apply, you get paid so that you don’t apply and keep it for months before you get your payment.  So that’s what we’re trying to do. And if we’re able to get more funds, why not?  As many as we can get in a month, we’ll be able to deal with them.  Now, we’re trying to see how we can get some kind of donations from donor agencies. International donor agencies. We’re trying to contact them and make sure that they assist us.  It is not an easy thing to get money from these international bodies but we’re using certain person’s know-how to go about these things to do that.  We tried to write to Local Content here but several attempts  have been made, they have not been able to respond to us We’re believing that in the coming year we’ll put much more effort to ensuring that they also support us in one way or the other. These are the things that we’re trying to do but like I said, the major challenge is just money. Funds are coming but it’s something that cannot match the number of students that are applying because the student applications are increasing by the day as people get to know about the loan scheme every other day. So that’s where we are, that’s the major challenge.  The good thing is we have also started making some recoveries, you know. Some payments have started coming from those who have benefited before.  What we did, even though the law says that until you graduate, especially those in the undergraduate programme, until you graduate before you start paying.  But what we did is that if you have somebody who can be paying for you while you’re still in school, we contact them and they start paying and people are responding.

Robinson:  What about those that do not have jobs after their graduation, how do you recoup your money?

Dr. Amaegberi:  What we’re saying is that you to graduate one year after Youth Service before you start payment. Now if you finish your Youth Service and you’re not able to pay, we’re not going to come after you with police or anything. What we do is that we contact you, and say youngman, young lady you took loan and by our records you’v finished school, you have finished your youth service one year after so you need to start paying back this money, you know, in installments. And whatever it is that we agree, then we start recollecting that money based on agreement. But what the law says is that you should pay this money within a period of 3 – 5 years and that’s a long time enough for anybody to, you know, whether…we have people that are not even working but are building houses. That’s why Douye Diri is also emphasising on skills so that you don’t come out from school and say “I don’t have a job”.  You should be able to do something to support yourself. And whatever it is that you’re doing, you can part with five thousand Naira, ten thousand Naira in a month you’ll be able to pay this monies within that time frame.

Robinson:  How much are you spending annually for this loans scheme.

Dr. Amaegberi:  Well, what we spend annually is within the neighborhood of three, four hundred million in a year.  And what we’re doing is payment of the students school fees, you know.  So I can say that we have spent well over 1.5 billion  from when we started to this year.

Robinson:  That is from 2019 to…

Dr. Amaegberi: Yeah 2020, that’s when we started paying. So, from 2020, 2021, 22 and this is the fourth year. We have spent well over 1.5 billion Naira paying the school fees. What we have gotten back…. we have also gotten back some money but that’s in small bits because it’s not everybody that has benefited that is paying now, you know.  So, we’re gradually getting some incomes monthly.  At least, every month we’re getting nearly a million plus as repayments that are also coming. That’s also helping us.

Robinson:  We’re talking about the Governor and second tenure. How do you see this second tenure. And by the way, how was the elections?

Dr. Amaegberi: Like I said, you know, I’ve talked about the elections before. Elections were largely peaceful even though there were threats of violence and all that. In some places of course, there were skirmishes violent behavior from certain political parties, but you know, with the Governor’s peaceful disposition, I think the grace of God that is upon him enveloped the entire state and we didn’t quite hear much of killings. We only heard about certain person that was killed in Brass or so.  But largely, it was peaceful and like the Governor alluded to, the election was free, fair, you know, and to a large extent, credible because the expectations, and of course, all the polls before the election pointed to the fact that the Governor was way ahead of his opposition.  But you know, they came with all the fierce stories about Federal might, they were coming to write results and all of that but unfortunately for them, the Governor also was a tactician and in all their plans they failed. And we have victory at the end of the day.  The election at the riverine areas was tough, security was a little bit of a challenge, but at to the end of the day as God would want it, we came out victorious and we won the election fair and square.

Robinson:  Congratulations!

Dr. Amaegberi: Thank you.

Robinson:  Is there anything you want to add to what you’ve said already? A word to Bayelsans, a word to the Governor, and perhaps, the students that you’re also assisting out there. Are there feedback mechanisms where you get to know their performance, so we know that at the end of the day they’re making very good use of this opportunity?

Dr. Amaegberi:  What we’re doing is e every other month we do a campus tour of what is going on. We visit the various campuses where our students are and all of that.  And we’re aware that the students are now doing better because they no longer border themselves so much about school fees and they concentrate more on their studies.  For the schools that are within Bayelsa State we have an understanding with them. So once a student has shown proof that he has applied for the loan but is yet to pay, he or she can be allowed to write exams.  So that’s also a breather for them, you know, it makes them to settle well to study. And so that’s what we’re doing.  For Bayelsans, I believe that they should expect the best.  My expectations for the next four years is that Bayelsa would progress much more than it is now.  The State is already wearing a new look in terms of infrastructural development, and I believe that the next four years a lot of the projects that are ongoing will be completed. And of course, new ones would be flagged off for whoever is coming to continue.  I think that if every Governor in the past years have been doing what Douye Diri is doing, Bayelsa State would have opened up more than the way it is. We’re not saying others did not do well, they tried their best but we feel that more progress would have been made if this type of deliberate effort had been made but by and large, , something have to begin from somewhere and we’re hoping that Douye Diri is setting a good standard, you know.  He also rode on the back of his predecessor, continuing the projects and then finishing them, starting his own new ones and so on.  So we believe that this kind of continuity should continue so that subsequent governments would continue to make progress and take us to the “El Dorado” of our dream as far as Bayelsa State is concerned.

Robinson: Thank you very much, sir. I want to commend you and also encourage you to continue doing better, and I hope that you would continue through the next year.

Dr. Amaegberi: Thank you very much. I appreciate.

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