No fewer than 177 indigent students have been awarded scholarships by Hon. Lukman Mudashiru, the lawmaker representing the Ayedire/Iwo/Ola-Oluwa Federal Constituency, Osun State, in the House of Representatives.
The beneficiaries were awarded the scholarships to study various programmes of their choice at the Ahman Pategi University, Kwara State and the Federal College of Education, Iwo, Osun State.
This set of 177 students come from uniquely different backgrounds and family struggles with social inequality. Of this number, 75 have been admitted to Ahman Pategi University while 102 others have accepted at the Federal College of Education.
Disclosing his motivation for the initiative, Hon. Mudashiru stated that he shared similar early life experiences with some of the students and he braced the odds to acquire education with which he has been a responsible member of the society and fighting for social change.
“I am passionate about fighting the cycle of inequal access to education that confronted me growing up,” the sponsor stated. “I was once in the demography of the less-privileged. With my story, I delight in seeing poor students become well-educated and watch them carve a happy future for themselves.”
“At whatever cost, as long as it is available, I am ready to go any lenth to see disadvantaged young people attain their desired heights. It is in doing this that they will help improve the society that produced them as well as fighting for fair policies like I am doing.”
The federal lawmaker told journalists that the educational intervention would be a continuous exercise throughout his tenure at the National Assembly.
“All my life, I have been dedicated to this cause. But my new position has offered me a bigger platform, hence the scale of this initiative. I am going to sustain it each year throughout my membership at the National Assembly,” Hon. Mudashiru added.
Prince Lekan Lamuye, the chairman of the scholarship committee, stated that the committee received over 550 applications, all of whom were thoroughly screened through an aptitude test that was conducted in batches in the Iwo Local Government area of Osun State between December 2023 and January 2024.
“Over 350 candidates applied under the NCE category while we had over 200 in the university category,” Prince Lamuye said. “We in the committee were so impressed by the brilliance all the candidates showcased. It was challenging picking the best among them. The assessors did a great job which streamlined how we eventually picked the 177 beneficiaries.”
The lawmaker also mentioned that the scholarship covered tuition fees, including acceptance fees, of the beneficiaries until their graduation from the two institutions. The scholarship worth hundreds of millions of naira.
For 75 candidates at the private university, N150M has been earmarked to cover their school fees until graduation. The school fees intended to sustain the NCE candidate until graduation will also be paid by the lawmaker.
Ayinla Modinat Omotayo who spoke on behalf of the students profusely thanked the sponsor for the opportunity extended to them, promising to justify the investment morally and academically.
