More than 250 students across Ondo and Osun states have received educational support from the High Chiefs Bode and Betty Osedimilehin Foundation as part of efforts to widen access to education and strengthen human capital development in its host communities.

The beneficiaries, who cut across public primary and secondary schools, technical colleges and medical programmes, were drawn from Owo, Ose, Akure North and Akure South Local Government Areas of Ondo State, as well as Ile-Ife in Osun State.

The intervention, which commenced in 2024, has now entered its third year, with the foundation expanding the scope of its scholarship programme to accommodate students pursuing different levels and fields of education.

The initiative is targeted at reducing the financial burden of education on families while providing young people with opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills required for their future careers.

Speaking during the scholarship presentation in Akure, the Executive Coordinator of the foundation, Osedimilehin Dele Johnson, said the intervention was motivated by the need to invest in the future of young people.

Johnson said the scholarship should not be viewed merely as financial assistance but as an investment in the aspirations and potential of the beneficiaries.

He charged the students to approach their studies with seriousness and discipline, urging them to use the opportunity to develop themselves and make meaningful contributions to their communities.

Johnson also encouraged the beneficiaries to see the scholarship as a responsibility to justify the confidence reposed in them by the foundation and its sponsors.

“Today, we are not simply presenting financial assistance. We are investing in dreams. We are saying to every beneficiary: Your education matters. Your potential matters. Your future matters,” he said.

The founders of the foundation, High Chiefs Bode and Betty Osedimilehin, who participated in the ceremony virtually from Australia, urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the opportunity.

They also challenged the students to replicate the gesture in the future by supporting other people who may require assistance when they become financially capable.

Also speaking at the event, the immediate past Director-General of the Ondo State Project Performance Implementation and Monitoring Unit, Engr. Razaq Obe, described education as a critical foundation for sustainable development.

Obe said investment in education had implications beyond individual beneficiaries, stressing that educated citizens were better positioned to contribute to the economic and social advancement of their communities.

“Education is the bedrock of every society and it remains the most significant tool to transform lives and advance nations,” he said.

He therefore called for increased investment in the education sector by government, private organisations and other stakeholders.

According to him, interventions such as the scholarship scheme could help reduce some of the financial barriers preventing children and young people from achieving their educational aspirations.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Ondo State Governor on Scholarship, Alhaji Samad Orijeminiyi, commended the foundation for sustaining the initiative since its commencement three years ago.

Orijeminiyi urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture through academic excellence, noting that their performance would be an important factor in determining the sustainability and possible expansion of the scheme.

“The value you draw from this scheme will be the main encouragement for the sponsors to do more,c he said.

He further promised to draw the attention of the Ondo State Government to the foundation’s sustained intervention in education and its contribution to the development of students in the state.

The scholarship programme was also extended to Ile-Ife, Osun State, where the final phase of the 2026 awards was held on September 26.

The event was organised in collaboration with the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, as part of activities marking the annual Olojo Festival.

The foundation said 40 beneficiaries were selected from 20 public schools in Ile-Ife for the 2026 intervention.

The extension to Ile-Ife, according to the organisation, reflects its broader commitment to supporting students within communities connected to its activities.

The foundation said the scholarship scheme was designed not only to provide immediate financial relief to beneficiaries and their families but also to contribute to long-term human capital development.

It said its decision to sustain the programme was based on the belief that education remained a critical pathway to improving individual opportunities, strengthening communities and promoting broader social and economic development.