Final year secondary school students in Kabba, Kogi state, has been prevented from benefiting from West African Examination Council (WAEC) fee grant offered by a member of the House of Representatives, Elder Leke Abejide.
The Reps member who has been paying WAEC fees of all students in Yagba federal constituency in the last five years decided to extend the good gestures to other federal constituencies in the Kogi West senatorial district.
Last month, Abejide announced his decision to pay WAEC fees for final year students in Kabba-Bunu and Ijumu local government areas of Kogi state. Thus, several schools were slated to benefit from the philanthropic gestures of the lawmaker which is expected to run for three days starting from Okebukun High School which was already carried out by 10 .00 am on Friday.
However, on getting to Kabba, a principal of one of the benefiting schools, Mr Abolusoro, told the Reps member point blank that ‘an order from above’ said the students must not come out to receive the already prepared cheques.
At the St Augustine College Kabba venue for the disbursement, the Rep member along with his long convoy was barred from paying the WAEC fees of the final year students of the schools in Kabba.
Abejide, who was sad that the students were not allowed to benefit from the scheme, expressed surprise that the Principal did not inform him earlier in spite of his several communications with him over the programme.
He said the money allocated for the WAEC payment was his personal funds and not that of government which he said was aimed to cushion the plights of parents and students and not aimed at scoring cheap publicity.
Hon. Abejide stated that he was one of the strong supporters of Governor Yahaya Bello who worked for his re-election in 2019, stressing he has never criticized nor done anything to undermine the governor’s interest in the past and wondered why he was not allowed to render this humanitarian gesture.
However, the Director General of Leke Abejide foundation, Mr Shola Adebola said considering the plights of some aged parents who were already seated for the ceremony, the lawmaker will return to the school tomorrow morning by 10. 00 am to give out cheques to students.
Those in the entourage of the Lawmaker are top politicians in the area including ADC senatorial
candidate, Dele Williams, the Kabba-Bunu/ Ijumu Reps candidate, Architect Salman Idris and the Kabba- Bunu House Assembly candidate, Ayodeji Olumudi.
It will be recalled that the Kogi Central senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barr. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was also reportedly barred from paying WAEC fees of students in Ebira land.
