AKWA Ibom State students in higher education have commended Governor Umo Eno for keeping his promise to award bursaries to the state’s undergraduates and introducing a N100M intervention fund for Students Living With Disabilities among other commitments to sound education in the state.
Student leaders from various clusters of the Akwa Ibom student community expressed their gratitude Thursday during a meeting with the governor in Uyo to update the students on modalities by his administration to soon commence payment of the bursary to all Akwa Ibom students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
Represented on the occasion by his Personal Assistant on Students Affairs, Wisdom Offong, the governor urged the students not to be distracted in their pursuit of academic excellence, urging them to guard against anti-social behaviour that may stall their determination to excel in their chosen fields of study.
According to him, “The software applications to be deployed in the execution of Geographic Information Systems (AKWAGIS) for payment of bursary awards to undergraduates is ready and the process of ensuring every student is carried along ongoing. This is done to ensure transparency and accountability in the entire process.”
He said the meeting was to elaborately explain the processes and progress so far made as regards payment of bursary as approved by the Governor and to note the contributions, suggestions and observations of the leaders in attendance for speedy response to the yearnings of the student community.”
He advised the students to lead exemplary lives and serve as role models for their much younger ones while being conscious of their environment to report any suspicious movements promptly to security agencies.
National President of, the Association of Akwa Ibom State Students (NAAKISS), Ubong Ekwere, assured the governor of the determination of the students to support his administration, appealing for quick payment of bursaries to all students from the state in the higher Institutions.
Ekwere stated, “We are overwhelmingly passing a vote of confidence on the Governor, for the bursary payment, the N100M educational intervention funds for students living with disabilities being, first of its kind, the building of model primary schools across the state, timely payment of WAEC fees for secondary students and many more, just a few months in office”.
The Governor, student dialogue attracted many student leaders, including the National Financial Secretary, the National Association of Nigerian Students, and Ibiangake Asuquo, among others.
