The Elizabeth Ojuolape Omo Akeju Educational Foundation has generously donated books and other learning materials to secondary schools in Ekiti State.
The foundation, established by Babatunde Akeju, an indigene of Ilogbo-Ekiti, aims to honor his late mother, Princess Elizabeth Ojuolape Ajayi, who passed away in 2010.
At the unveiling of the foundation over the weekend in Ilogbo-Ekiti, Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, seven secondary schools, including Ilogbo High School, Ilogbo-Ekiti; Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti; Oganganmodu Grammar School, Ido-Ekiti; Usi High School, Usi-Ekiti; Ekiti State Government College, Usi-Ekiti; Notre Dame Grammar School, Usi-Ekiti; and Isan Secondary School, Isan-Ekiti, received the valuable donations.
During the event, the foundation also awarded scholarships to three indigenes of Ilogbo-Ekiti, enabling them to study Technician Accounting Scheme (ATS) at the ICAN Studying Centre in Lagos. The beneficiaries are Jemiluyi Ajibola Morakinyo, Jemiluyi Omisore Kolapo, and Olaiya Ipadeola Kayode.
The scholarship covers tuition fees, a monthly stipend for each beneficiary, stationeries, and examination fees from ATS 1 to ATS 3 and will be run within the period of eighteen months.
In his remarks, the President of the foundation, Babatunde Akeju, emphasized that the primary goal of the foundation is to assist less privileged students in acquiring a sound and qualitative education. Akeju, a Chartered Accountant and former Bursar of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, highlighted that the foundation has begun investing in the youth to become professional accountants.
He shared, “When I turned 70, my former students at Yaba Tech were planning an elaborate birthday for me, but I appealed to them to use the money they intended for the birthday party to establish a foundation in the name of my mother, and they agreed. The money donated by my former students is what the foundation is using to run its programs.”
The Managing Director of the foundation, Michael Adebayo, stated that the foundation has significantly contributed to education by donating books to several schools in Lagos. He added that the foundation aims to enhance students’ critical thinking, communication skills, and knowledge, fostering a culture of learning.
Delivering a lecture at the event, a former Registrar of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Omojola Awosusi, emphasized that education remains the greatest catalyst for development and called for increased investment by the government and other stakeholders.
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