The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, has reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring that no child is deprived of quality education due to poverty or difficult life circumstances, as she disbursed ₦10 million in scholarships to 100 orphaned and indigent students in higher institutions across the state.
Speaking during the scholarship disbursement ceremony held in Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Oyebanji described education as a critical tool for empowerment, social mobility, and national development, stressing that every young person deserves the opportunity to achieve academic success regardless of their financial background.
The scholarship scheme, facilitated through her humanitarian foundation, benefited students selected from the 10 higher institutions located in Ekiti State.
Each beneficiary received financial support of One Hundred Thousand Naira (#100,000) aimed at easing the burden of educational expenses.
According to the Governor’s wife, the initiative forms part of her annual intervention programme designed to support vulnerable students and promote access to education.
She noted that the foundation also extends educational assistance to pupils and students in primary and secondary schools through its yearly Back-to-School Programme, which provides learning materials and other educational resources.
“Education remains one of the most powerful instruments for personal transformation and societal progress. Through this intervention, we are contributing our quota towards ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent our young people from pursuing their dreams”. She said.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Coordinator of the Widows, Aged, Orphans and Hope (WAOH) Project, Dr. Kemi Dairo, explained that the beneficiaries were carefully selected from the various institutions based on their indigent status and demonstrated need for assistance.
She stressed that the scholarship funds would help beneficiaries cover tuition fees, procure academic materials, support research projects, and meet other educational needs.
Dairo commended the Governor’s wife for sustaining the initiative and urged the students to make judicious use of the opportunity while remaining committed to their academic pursuits.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement, Mr. Sunday Asefon, encouraged the beneficiaries to remain focused, disciplined and dedicated to their studies so as to become positive representatives of their institutions and communities.
Other dignitaries at the event, including the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tertiary Education, Prof. Akeem Apenpe; Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prof. Femi Akinwumi; Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Peju Babafemi; and Commissioner for Education, Dr. Bimpe Aderiye, charged the students to see the scholarship as a motivation for excellence and a call to greater responsibility.
They collectively emphasized the importance of education in shaping future leaders and commended the initiative for providing hope and opportunities to vulnerable youths across the state.