Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC/Kogi West) on Thursday flagged off disbursement of 20 million Naira bursary to to selected students of tertiary institution in the district.
Speaking at the flag-off in Lokoja, Adeyemi said the annual bursary scheme is part of his plan to aid students across the seven local government areas in Kogi West senatorial district.
He explained that all the beneficiaries, irrespective of courses of studies and schools, were chosen by a non-political independent bursary advisory board to guarantee transparency and fairness.
“We believe that all our youths who are brilliant but have financial challenges should be given equal opportunities by helping them to achieve their educational pursuits.
“The board members were the ones who did the background checks and screened all the applicants who were up to 4,800 based on criteria set for the purpose and finally picked 2,500 successful ones from the number for this year.
“We are only flagging off that of Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency today while other constituencies will follow,” he said.
Adeyemi advised the beneficiaries not to waste the funds but make judicious use of it to enable them achieve their academic goals.
No fewer than 350 beneficiaries from Lokoja and Kogi local government areas were issued with automated teller machine (ATM) debit cards by management of Polaris Bank Plc to access the N20m fund.
In his remarks, Chairman of Lokoja local government council, Hon. Muhammed Dan’asabe Muhammed, lauded Senator Adeyemi, adding that the impact will transcend the direct beneficiaries and their families.
“Good education and capacity building are the best investments to give to youth anywhere globally. We commend Senator Smart Adeyemi for contributing this much to advance education pursuits of indigent youths in the senatorial district,” he said.
