Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo has presented a N5 million complementary scholarship award to Miss Favour Oluwatimilehin Adebayo, an indigene of the state who recently bagged the European Union-funded Erasmus Plus scholarship to study in Poland.
The State Commissioner for Education, Hon Wemi Jones, who presented the cheque to Miss Favour in Lokoja on Friday, said Kogi state government places much premium on education.
Hon Jones commended Governor Ododo for sustaining the legacy of his predecessor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who at different times provided support for outstanding students in the state to study abroad.
Executive Chairman of Kogi State Scholarship Board (KSSB), Mr Afolabi Joseph-Raji, explained that the ERASMUS Plus recipient, Miss Favor, studied at Nasarawa State University and was an outstanding student deserving of the scholarship award.
“Favour Oluwatimilehin, who hails from Yagba West local government, has done her bit to be an outstanding student while studying at Nasarawa State University.
“The university, through an exchange programme with foreign universities, identified her as an outstanding student deserving of this award. She got this scholarship from the European Union ERASMUS Plus scholarship alongside a university in Poland. She is currently in Poland undertaking her studies.
“Nasarawa state university brought reports of her feat to the attention of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and as is characteristic of His Excellency, he rose up to the challenge. The scholarship board put up a request to that effect and His Excellency approved expressly.
“Our job at the scholarship board is to administer various welfare initiatives of His Excellency Governor Usman Ododo, to ameliorate the economic challenges being faced by students by giving them bursary support. Our job is to encourage students to be their best, to secure scholarships within and outside the country. In a nutshell, our job is to ensure that students attain the heights of academic success and also become very responsible citizens in the society,” he said.
Father of recipient, Mr Moses Adebayo, expressed gratitude to Governor Ododo for giving every citizen of the state a sense of belonging.
Mr Adebayo, who received Governor Ododo’s complementary award on behalf of his daughter, said he is proud to tell people he is from Kogi because of recent development in the state.
“When the issue of reaching out to my daughter’s home state for support was raised, many were skeptical. But Kogi has distinguished itself. I want to thank former Governor Yahaya Bello for giving us Governor Usman Ododo.
“Ododo is a Governor everyone want to follow,” he said.
