No fewer than 500 Nigerian students have benefited from a scholarship scheme put in place by a Non-Governmental Organisation, the APS Youth Foundation.
The chairman of the foundation, Chief Peter Arogundade, who disclosed this at Iyara, headquarters of Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State, said the beneficiaries were selected across the country.
Arogundade stated that the foundation was established some years ago to give back to the society, adding that it had provided a platform for youths who form the largest population in the country to achieve their academic pursuits.
According to him, beneficiaries of the foundation’s gesture were drawn from within and outside the country, saying 68 students are currently being sponsored in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
He also disclosed that the foundation had concluded plans to pay the WAEC fees of 21 secondary school students in each community of Ijumu Local Government Area, assuring that those who are outstanding would be given scholarships up to PhD level in any university in Nigeria and abroad.
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“We have distributed laptops to students from Okun Origin who studied law in Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba because we noticed that it will aid their proficiency for optimum performance and we gave N1 million to the management of the school to distribute to outstanding Okun students in that school,” he added.
Arogundade explained that apart from youths, the foundation was also focusing on widows as many of them have been empowered with cash as business capital.
“For the widows, we don’t just want to give them fish but we want to teach them how to catch fish and be self-reliant,” Arogundade noted.
The Chairman, however, charged the 21 secondary school students to study hard and avoid acts that were inimical to achieving great success in life.
In a remark, the coordinator of the foundation, Oyewole Solomon, while congratulating the benefiting students and their parents, urged them to be focused and record remarkable success in this year’s WAEC.
According to him, the beneficiaries would be strictly monitored to ensure that they achieved the desired results.