Lagos lawmaker: A member of the Lagos House of Assembly, Mr Sanni Okanlawon, representing Kosofe I, has given out free health insurance schemes and N 2.2 million cash to support 22 undergraduates who excelled in their studies in the state.
The students were also offered free health insurance of N300,000 each, courtesy of the lawmaker in collaboration with an insurance company, Lafia Mill.
Okanlawon, the Chairman, House Committee on Education (Tertiary and Agencies), made this known on Saturday during the presentation of the cash and health insurance certificates to the 2021/2022 Awardees in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmaker also inaugurated an eight-man OKLA Scholarship Advisory Committee, headed by Mr Hakeem Alli-Balogun, the CEO of Hallizview International, on Sept. 21 to receive and screen applicants.
Some of the students who were presented N100,000 cash each are Adebayo Adeola, Oketunde Oladimeji, Babatola Eniola, Aliu Aliu O, Oshiname Oluwasegun, Gbadamosi Racheal, Olanrewaju Awoyinka, Ebunoluwa Williams, Umezuaku Onyeka, amongst others.
Speaking at the ceremony, Okanlawon said the scheme was borne out of his desire to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots, particularly students who come from humble backgrounds.
The lawmaker explained that the scholarship and health insurance were open to students currently in the university, polytechnic and colleges of education and with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.5 and above.
The lawmaker said applicants must be Kosofe Constituency 1 residents and must have established that the lack of finance is a challenge, adding that the gesture is part of efforts to enhance excellence amongst students in tertiary institutions.
He said: “The best legacy one can plant is to offer the society quality education and build human capacity for the growth and development of the nation, as a result of this, the scholarship advisory committee was set up.
“The OKLA Scholarship Advisory Committee received over 50 applications out of which 22 applicants were approved to benefit from the maiden edition of the scheme.
“The scholarship covers their tuition fees, books, allowances and stipends for one academic year.
“Today, we are presenting cash of N100,000 to each of the 22 beneficiaries and over the last few weeks, we have successfully offered our shoulder to the needy to lean upon by providing educational materials to public schools in my constituency.
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“This is with a promise to replicate same in other primary and secondary schools in the constituency.
“We have also delivered an ICT/Computer Centre for Emmanuel Nursery and Primary School, Ojota, which will provide children with necessary tools to understand the ever-advancing technology in this modern world today.”
Okanlawon said his passion to assist the have-not students to pursue their education prompted him to offer the scholarship and the health insurance.
According to him, “as you know that the economy is not too friendly these days and the only way to assist the students that are performing well in their institutions is to assist them financially to further assist them in their academic.
The lawmaker, therefore, urged the beneficiaries to make use of the scholarship to genuinely pursue their educational needs.
He also advised them to be serious with their studies, saying that any of them that comes down from the present performance level might not likely benefit from the scholarship next year.
The lawmaker said the committee would continue to track and monitor their performances.
Commenting, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, applauded the gesture of Okanlawon to have given out scholarships to a number of deserving students and doing it in a transparent way.
Adefisayo, who was the special guest, said she is excited because the lawmaker gave out the scholarship and the health insurance scheme to them without even knowing any of the beneficiaries.
“I think this kind of gesture is wonderful and worthy of emulation because he gave out the scholarship without any form of tribalism or religious affiliation for the beneficiaries,” she said.
The commissioner, while urging the beneficiaries to continue to do well, said they shouldn’t put the lawmaker to shame, adding that they must always be on top in their academics because he had done this for them so they owe him a fantastic performance.
Also, the Executive Chairman, Kosofe Local Government, Mr Moyosore Ogunlewe, said the gesture by the lawmaker is in tandem with the THEME of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He urged the beneficiaries to make use of the financial assistance and come out with good results.
Speaking on behalf of all the beneficiaries, Miss Azeezat Adetayo, from the University of Lagos, thanked the lawmaker for bringing out these opportunities for the students to assist them in their education.
According to her, “I really want to appreciate you and I prayed that the Lord will continue to uphold you and bless all your heart’s desire.”
She said it took a lot to sit down and think about the society, praying that Allah would continue to bless the lawmaker for this great assistance to them.
NAN
