35 Students Get Education Grant in Kogi
Yekini Jimoh
No fewer than 35 students from various Secondary Schools in Ihima, Okehi local government council of Kogi State have received educational grants to enable them further their studies.
The Director-General, Kogi State Bureau of Information Services and Grassroots Sensitisation, Alhaji Abdulkarim Abdulmalik who made this known, recently, during the grand finale of chains of academic competition that featured quiz, spelling drills and debate among students , held at Ihima Community Science Secondary School(ICSSS), Ihima, said the only way leaders can foster unity and peace among the diverse clans of the community is through healthy academic competition rather than empowering thugs to disrupt the peace of the society.
He recalled the good old days when students were drilled on the basic spelling skills, map reading and debate, noting that such virtues have given way for trivial clanish considerations that tend to divide the society.
He said if a peaceful society would be achieved, there is an urgent need for leaders to play their roles in revitalising communal living and brotherhood, adding that it will serve as guiding principles employed by the leadership of Ihima Students’ Union (ISU) in the selection of beneficiaries that cut across all sections of Ihima community.
According to him, “Governor Yahaya Bello is a leader who is passionate about education and had instructed all members of his cabinet to impact positively on the students especially the less privileged.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Kogi State chapter, Comrade Momoh Jimoh Adeiza in his remark expressed excitement about the ingenuity of Alhaji Abdulmalik to give scholarship to the school children and foster unity among the different sections of the community.
While calling on political office holders to emulate the gesture, Comrade Adeiza said the director general was able to organise the programme as a result of his positive orientation towards human development and capacity building.
Earlier, the National President of Ihima Students’ Union, Comrade Isah Amoto Bala thanked Governor Yahaya Bello and Mr Abdulmalik for creating an enabling environment for the programme which he said was meant to foster peace among the students.
He noted that the remarkable milestone recorded in the annals of the state and Ebira land was made possible through the people-oriented new direction blueprint of the governor.
He urged the people to support the administration of Governor to attract more dividend of democracy. At the end of the competitions, various prizes were won by some of schools that participated in the competition.