NDDC Issues Caution Over Counterfeit Scholarship Offers From Scammers

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has issued a warning to the public about fraudulent individuals posing as representatives of the commission and offering fake postgraduate scholarship opportunities.

In a statement released on Sunday in Port Harcourt, Mrs. Seledi Thompson-Wakama, the NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, disclosed that scammers are targeting unsuspecting victims with false promises of scholarship placements in exchange for money.

“The attention of the NDDC has been drawn to fraudulent emails and messages sent to applicants of the commission’s Postgraduate Foreign Scholarship Programme,” she said.

Thompson-Wakama explained that the fraudulent messages, allegedly sent from the email address [email protected], claim to originate from the NDDC’s ‘Board Registry.’ These messages invite recipients to a fake document verification and authentication exercise, scheduled to take place from May 19 to May 21 on Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

She stressed that the NDDC is not involved in any such process and has no connection to the individuals behind these fraudulent messages.

“All official communication regarding our scholarship program is carried out only through our official portal: www.scholarship.nddc.gov.ng,” she emphasized.

The public is advised to ignore unsolicited messages requesting payment, personal information, or promising placements outside the official NDDC channels.

Thompson-Wakama urged anyone who receives suspicious emails or messages to report them immediately to the appropriate security agencies for investigation. She also encouraged interested individuals and past beneficiaries of NDDC programs to rely solely on the commission’s official website, www.nddc.gov.ng, for accurate and verified information.