Some beneficiaries of the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission bursary scheme have protested against the alleged non-payment of their allowances.
The students, who besieged the OSOPADEC Akure office with placards last Thursday, accused the OSOPADEC Chairman, Pastor Johnson Ogunyemi, of not respecting an earlier agreement the commission made with them.
In a statement on Monday, the President, National Association of Ilaje Students, Mr. Victor Adeya, said the commission owed the students bursary allowances for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 academic sessions.
He also denied the accusation that students assaulted the police officers drafted to the scene to stop the protest.
Adeya said, “The intervention of the officers and men of the State Police Command was not primarily intended to save the commission’s buildings and workers from the students. We had no weapons on us. We did not attack the police. The police officers that sustained injuries were those who jumped out of their moving vans while showing off their military competence.’’
According to Adeya, the students will not hesitate to embark on another protest this Thursday if Governor Olusegun Mimiko does not replace Ogunyemi.
However, attempts by our correspondent to reach out to Ogunyemi on Monday were not successful, as he did not respond to the calls and the text messages sent to his telephone line.
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