Beneficiaries of Alex Otti Foundation ( AOF) at the weekend rose to 234 in it’s seven years of existence as a philanthropic, skills building and education empowerment organization.

This was made known at the weekend during the banquet organized by the Foundation in honour of it’s 2022/2023 Scholarship Awardees numbering 34 held at the Sacramento Event Center, Isi Court Amakama in Umuahia South Council.

AOF which was established and facilitated by Dr Alex Otti more than seven years ago, long before he was elected governor in March, 2023, had before 2023 awarded a total of 200 tertiary education scholarships to undergraduates in various universities across the country who were selected annually through competitive selection process by a Standing Committee.

Before 2023, beneficiaries got one hundred and fifty thousands naira each every year during their Course the duration but this amount was at the weekend announced increased to two hundred and fifty naira by governor Otti while inaugurating the 2023 batch of 34 in the presence of some past beneficiaries.

Otti who in the presence of his wife Prescilia Chidimma, said that the award was aimed at building and equipping a generation of youths with skills that would enable them contribute to national development and rule the world from where they find themselves, charged the beneficiaries to develop capacities , speak out against the challenges confronting the nation and profer the solutions.

He announced that the AOF has no relationship with Abia state government as there is a line between the AOF and Abia state finances adding that the Scholarship award which was started many years ago but formalized seven years ago, is modelled in such a way that beneficiaries do not need to know anyone to succeed.

The Guardian gathered that an applicant does not need to know anybody or official of the scheme to apply, compete and that rather, knowing such officials or trying to know them, would disqualify such applicant.

While the outgoing AOF Executive Secretary Mr Chinedu Ekeke asserted that the selection process was transparent and was corroborated by the Director of Communications Dr Destiny Isiguzo, another member of the management, Mr Marcel Umesi, who was not a beneficiary, said that six of the beneficiaries had graduated with first class degrees.

Spokesperson of the 2023 awardees Miss Precious Ubadire, a 300 level Theater Arts student of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndifu Ebonyi state, said that the award will not only smoothen and facilitate their studies but lessen the financial burden on their parents especially during the prevailing economic hardship.

Her father, Ubadire Obike, who is visually impaired, commended the AOF and prayed for it’s sustenance and longevity.

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