A group of parents of students in the Federal Government-owned secondary schools across the country, under the aegis of Unity Schools Parents Forum (USPF), have raised alarm over alleged diversion of over N1 Billion meant for undefined insurance scheme which was diverted for the Residential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 election.
The aggrieved parents have urgently called on the Federal government and the Economic Financial Crimes commission (EFCC) to investigate the questionable insurance scheme that was facilitated by NICON Insurance, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to the spokesperson of the group, Kingsley Akindele, the entire parent body is yet to understand the nitty-gritty of the contract and the facts about the actual arrangement the unity schools through the Federal Ministry of Education have with NICON Insurance.
The group said that the concern was initially raised last year by the National Association of Parents and Teachers of Federal Government Colleges, an affiliate body of the Parents Teachers Association, through a press release, which was available in the media as well as the communiqué of the National Association of Parent Teacher Association of Federal Government Colleges, South West Zone, at her quarterly meeting held at the Federal Government Girls’ College, Akure, Ondo State in March 2015.
Akindele said that despite the fact that the two groups through their respective medium, rejected what they described as the imposition of an unnecessary insurance policy scheme on students of unity colleges and called for the standardisation of education in the country, the Federal Government-owned secondary schools have gone ahead to include levies for the scheme in the current school levy to be paid by the students at resumption in September this year.
The statement said: “We want to again call the attention of the Federal Government, through the ministry of education and especially the Economic Financial Crime Commission to look closely at the scheme which no parent seems to understand. This issue have been raised consecutively by the National Association of Parents and Teachers of Federal Government Colleges, an affiliate body of the Parents Teachers Association, through Mr. Ehis Ogbeide, the former Chairman of PTA, Federal Government College, Kwali and North Central Zonal Coordinator of National Association of Parents and Teachers of Federal Government Colleges, and Parent Teacher Association of Federal Government Colleges, South-west Zone through, Akin Ashimolowo, the PTA Chairman of FGC Akure, who then spoke respectively at different forum confirmed the reservations of the parents about the scheme.”
The group alleged last year that a political party used money from the scheme to fund its presidential campaign in the 2015 presidential election.
The statement by Akindele added: “It was alleged last year by Concerned Parents of Unity Schools in Kwara state as reported by a national newspaper that money from the scheme might have been used to raise campaign funds for PDP as the NICON insurance company is owned by Jimoh Ibrahim, who is a notable PDP stakeholder.
“What the parents deserve to know now, is the genuineness of the scheme. We want to ask the insurance company to provide the contract papers between them and the parents/their wards, we want to know how many children that have been assessed so far, since the inception of the scheme 3 years ago and we want to know how many parents they have given the forms to and how many have returned theirs for the company to have the data of the students they are insuring.”
NICON Insurance scheme was introduced to all students in the Federal Government owned secondary schools otherwise known as the unity secondary schools throughout the country in 2014. Since then, it has continued to generate abysmal controversy.
The majority of the parents claimed that the annual N5,000 per child insurance scheme is of the high side. Based on a calculation of over 200,000 students in the 104 unity schools nationwide, the scheme will be generating over N1 billion for NICON Insurance.
The statement by Akindele said: “most importantly, the parents have never in any way contacted or contracted into the scheme by the insurance company, the school authority or the federal government.”
NICON Insurance is owned by controversial businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim. It was one of the businesses Ibrahim bought from the Federal Government through the Bureau of Public enterprises during the privatization exercise of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. [myad]
