No fewer than 1,000 students of Ondo State origin in higher institutions of learning were offered bursary of N50,000 each by the federal lawmaker representing Akoko North-East/ North-West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The beneficiaries were specifically students in universities, polytechnics and monotechnics who are indigenes of his federal constituency.
According to the federal lawmaker while disbursing the money at Ugbe Akoko, Akoko North-East Local Government Area of the state, said the gesture was part of his intervention in the education sector of the state.
Represented by his aide, Mr Thalis Apalowo, the member of the House of Representatives promised that he would continue to contribute to the development of the education of his people.
He said, ”The amount of the bursary is N50,000 each to support the bright and needy 1,000 students pursuing their studies in the universities, polytechnics, and monotechnics .
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“I put a high premium on education, with special attention to encouraging bright students from poor and vulnerable families to have a chance to pursue their dream careers.
“Since elected in 2019, I have invested heavily in the education sector through the facilitation of classroom blocks, two thousand free UTME forms, facilitation of ICT, skill acquisition centres and many others. Our intervention is not only in the education sector but also in other sectors like health, infrastructure, human capital development, and water, among others.
“This year, 547 university students, 336 polytechnic students, and 117 monotechnic students benefited from this scheme. None of the communities in the federal constituency was denied and the selection process was open to all stakeholders across board. Transparency and accountability is our trademark and this has been sustained in all our programs.
“I wish to use this opportunity to urge the beneficiaries of this scheme to make prudent use of the funds and to ensure the scheme serves its primary purpose of reducing the burden of education on parents in the federal constituency.
“Lastly, let me congratulate the beneficiaries of the first edition of this scheme once again. As we are about to start the new mandate given to us by our people, we assure you, the students, that we have more programs to support your education. This is just a flash of what our students will benefit from.”
The chairman of the event, Professor Francis Gbore, urged the leaders in the state to emulate the style of Tunji-Ojo in contributing to the development of their communities.
“This is the first time in the history of Ondo State that an elected official will be doing a project as huge as this for students. This means a lot and other leaders should emulate Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. If we have leaders doing more in these areas, our education sector will experience deep growth.”
