Kogi senator disburses N100m bursaries to 1,000 indigent students

The senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, on Monday, commenced the disbursement of bursary awards to 1000 indigent students in the public tertiary institutions in the county. The students spread across 85 electoral wards in the senatorial district are to receive N100,000 each.

According to Karimi, the package, which is designed to assist parents in cushioning the burden of school fees for their wards in public higher institutions, will run for four years, beginning this year.

This programme, according to a statement by the Senator’s media team on Tuesday, underscored his commitment to education and the well-being of his constituents, ensuring deserving students receive financial aid to continue their higher education.

The statement partly read: “It’s impressive that out of 3,418 applicants, 1,000 students were carefully selected from 85 wards, with at least 10 beneficiaries from each ward. The emphasis on transparency and merit-based selection is commendable. The warning against soliciting or giving gratification to anyone is also well-noted.

“It’s essential to maintain the integrity of this programme and ensure that beneficiaries receive the full amount without any deductions. Senator Karimi’s dedication to building capacity for youths and students in Kogi West and Nigeria is truly inspiring. This initiative is a significant step towards fulfilling his campaign promise of promoting educational support and development in the region”.

Speaking further on the scheme, the Chairman of the Committee, Dr Bawa Dangana, said that the project would last throughout Karimi’s four-year term of office.

“Not less than 1000 Kogi West students in public tertiary institutions are expected to benefit yearly for the next four years. In all, 4000 students of various tertiary institutions anywhere in the country would benefit from this initiative that is solely financed by the senator for the benefit of his constituency,” he said.

Affirming that the project would last throughout his first-term tenure as a senator, Karimi while addressing journalists, added, “Although the amount is not much, I believe it will go a long way to cushion the effects of the current hardship and lighten the burden on the shoulders of parents.”

He stressed that the student loan being proposed by the Federal Government would not affect the bursary awards as beneficiaries are not going to pay back while the student loan would be paid back.

Karimi maintained that the committee for the bursary is composed of people with proven integrity who are also very accountable, seasoned administrators, educationists and technocrats who were deliberately chosen to serve due to their track record.