Stethoscope.
Photo credit: Wikipedia.
By Correspondent in Lokoja.
The hope of Isaac Alaba David, an indigent student from central Senatorial district of Kogi State, to study medicine and surgery at the Federal University of Lokoja,FUL, started on a happy note with the Board of Trustees of Ebira Education Trust Fund, BTEETF,supporting the realisation of his dream with N.4 million scholarship.
The chairman, Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund, Prof.Mohammed Salihu Audu,presented the scholarship to David at the NUJ Press Centre,Lokoja on Thursday.
He said the the presentation of the scholarship was sequel to ‘Save my Soul’ message received from an individual who gained admission to study Medicine and Surgery but could not take up the offer due to financial constraint and the pathetic conditions of his parents.
Prof. Audu, a former Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Niger state added that the board of trustees of the Fund, through its selection committee headed by Prof. Angela Okatahi, investigated the matter thoroughly before offering the scholarship to the recipient.
Going memory lane on the origin of the Trust Fund, the Chairman recalled that it was conceptualized and launched as Ebira Education Trust Fund for Kogi Central youths,to serve as a potent avenue by which frontiers of knowledge could be further widened.
“The underlying rationale and beauty of the scheme is actually intended to speak to a bourgeoning crop of quality intellectuals of diverse disciplines to emerge from among our youths in the next few years, courtesy of the Trust Fund.
“The core mandate of the Trust Fund does not qualify youths to run it by themselves, which is why the BoT was carefully constituted by the same youths from across the five Local Government Councils of Kogi Central Senatorial District at an enlarged EYC Congress held at Okene,” he said.
On the financial contribution of well meaning indigenes of ebiraland toward the project, Prof. Audu revealed that the board had so far awarded scholarships to four deserving postgraduate students from Kogi state central senatorial district.
The President General, Ebira Youth Congress (EYC) Ateiza Obiyo Aliyu, in his vote of thanks, expressed appreciation to members of the Board of Trustees for rekindling hope in the mind of the less privileged endowed with academic prowess but have no money to pursue their dream.
