The Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, popularly known as Yayi, on Sunday continued his seven-day mega empowerment and town hall meeting with a major focus on education and youth development.
At an event held at Frontier Hotel in Ilaro, Senator Yayi disbursed bursaries, scholarships, and laptops to students, dazzling both secondary school and higher institution students with his gesture.
A total of 3,881 students benefited from the bursary and scholarship awards, with a cumulative sum of N269,600,000 distributed to support their education.
According to the Chairman of the Senator’s Scholarship Board, Prof. Tope Popoola, the beneficiaries were drawn from all 20 local government areas of Ogun State.
He detailed that 1,419 students from Ogun West senatorial district received N100,000 each as bursary payment, while 958 students from the five local government areas within Ogun West were awarded scholarships of N200,000 each.
Prof. Popoola further revealed that 1,515 students from Ogun Central and Ogun East senatorial districts also benefited from the scholarship and bursary payments.
“The 2024/25 scholarship and bursary schemes surpassed the previous year’s edition by over 2,000 beneficiaries,” Prof. Popoola stated.
He added that since the official unveiling and flag-off of the Scholarship Board in November 2024, more than 8,000 applicants from over 100 institutions applied for the schemes.
He emphasized that the screening exercise adhered strictly to international best practices and resisted all forms of malpractice.
“We are committed to transparency and fairness throughout the process,” he said, while appreciating traditional rulers, parents, and students’ associations for helping to spread awareness about the program.
Speaking to the beneficiaries, Senator Adeola Yayi described the scholarship and bursary awards as part of his fulfillment of electoral promises.
“This initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and it is aimed at alleviating the financial burdens on indigent students,” the Senator said.
Senator Yayi, who also chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, explained that the program, facilitated in partnership with the National Productivity Centre, Abuja, was designed to supplement available funding avenues like the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
In addition to the scholarship and bursary disbursement, Senator Yayi presented laptops to 613 secondary school students across the Ogun West senatorial district during another event held at the Asade Agunloye Pavilion.
He explained that the beneficiaries had earlier undergone training on basic computer appreciation and various applications.
“Your mastery of ICT will be enhanced through constant practice. I encourage you to use these laptops to deepen your skills and not to be tempted to sell them,” Senator Yayi urged the students.
He stressed that in today’s digital world, familiarizing oneself with information and communication technology was key to personal and academic growth.
