NDDC warns Public over fake scholarship Scam

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has issued a warning to the public regarding the activities of fraudsters offering bogus postgraduate scholarships to unsuspecting individuals.

In a statement released in Port Harcourt on Sunday, the Commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs Seledi Thompson-Wakama, disclosed that scammers had been approaching members of the public with false promises of securing scholarship placements in exchange for payment.

She stated that the Commission’s attention was drawn to fraudulent emails and messages allegedly sent to applicants of the NDDC Postgraduate Foreign Scholarship Programme. The deceptive messages, purportedly sent from [email protected] and falsely claiming affiliation with the NDDC ‘Board Registry,’ invited recipients to a sham document verification and authentication exercise.

The fake exercise was reportedly scheduled to take place from 19 to 21 May at Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Thompson-Wakama emphasised that the NDDC has no affiliation whatsoever with the fraudulent activity and cautioned members of the public against falling victim to the scam.

She stressed that all official communication regarding the NDDC’s scholarship scheme is conducted exclusively through its official portal: www.scholarship.nddc.gov.ng. “Applicants are strongly advised to disregard unsolicited messages requesting money, personal details, or offering scholarship placements outside the Commission’s established procedures,” she said.

The NDDC spokesperson urged anyone who receives such suspicious communications to report them immediately to the relevant security agencies for investigation and necessary action.

She further advised both former beneficiaries and prospective applicants to depend solely on the Commission’s official website, www.nddc.gov.ng, for accurate and verified information on its programmes.