Posted by The Port Harcout Telegraph on
Education Ministry officials in Bayelsa ran for dear life, abandoning their assignment.
Education Ministry officials in Bayelsa ran for dear life, abandoning their assignment.
Some of them were not as lucky as they made to escape. They received severe injuries.
Trouble developed when students who came to collect their bursaries became enraged.
Our man on ground reports that the fracas lasted about four hours during which mayhem was unleashed.
The attention of passers-by was drawn to the situation when voices began to rise.
As the news spread, newsmen were attracted to the scene.
From information pieced together, the actions of the youths may have been influenced by the delay tactics of the officials and what some said was the selective approach to payments described in Nigerian parlance as "man-know-man" system.
Angered by this, the students broke the queue in which they were and sensing danger the officials who had a field day, apparently exercising the power conferred on them to pay bonafide students knew the game was up.
Some of the students hinted that the officials were using their exalted positions probably to enrich themselves and frustrate them.
Following the rampage, the officials halted the bursary payments.
It was not immediately known if the officials would resume payments, but the incident is said to have taken the authorities completely by surprise.
As at the time of filing this report, there was no official reaction from the government.
But a source told this publication government was looking into the matter.