Chief Segun Oni, the Deputy National Chairman (South), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ekiti State governorship aspirant has given scholarship to 63 Ekiti indigenes to study in Brazil. Oni made this known at the inauguration of the 63 students of Ekiti origin being sponsored by Segun Oni Campaign Organisation (SOCO) for scholarship to Brazil in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday.
The governorship hopeful, while declining that the programme had no political undertone, maintained that it was his agenda to put Ekiti youths on the world map. ‘‘What we are trying to do is to make an Ekiti person an international potential. This is not about politics but to put our children on the world map.’’ Oni said that the beneficiaries, who were 18 years and above, were selected from an open screening across the 16 local government areas of the state. He said that the screening was done by SOCO for entrepreneur’s programme in one of the leading tertiary institutions in Brazil, South America. Speaking at the inauguration, the Brazillian Consulate-General, Mrs Maria Figueiredo, explained that the programme would serve as an avenue to build mutual relationship between Nigeria and Brazil. She urged the students not to see Portuguese language spoken in Brazil as an obstacle to their studies.
Figueiredo, who noted that the language was one of the foreign languages spoken widely in parts of Africa, said it could be easily learnt by the students. The Director-General of SOCO, Dr Ife Arowosoge, thanked the parents for allowing their children to participate in the programme. He recalled that the former governor had done it before and was capable of doing it again if elected into office. ‘‘Ekiti people are begging him to come back because of the laudable programmes like this that he did as governor between 2007 and 2010. ‘‘He was the first governor in Ekiti to create a scholarship board and he will do more if elected again as governor.’’ Dr Tayo Ajayi, the Director, Segun Oni Young Progressives and the coordinator of the scheme, said the gesture was to secure the future of youths in the state. ‘‘We are very concerned about the future of our state; hence, we have to start now and this is one of the steps we have lined up to achieve the goal,’’ he said.
Ajayi urged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity, pointing out that without the youths, the state and the country could not develop. ‘‘Therefore, I want to urge you to be of good conduct and good representatives of our state.’’ Responding on behalf of the parents of the beneficiaries, Mr Olubunmi Ajayi said, ‘‘we thank Chief Segun Oni for the programme.’’ ‘‘It’s one of its kind and we are solidly behind him and we pray that his aspiration to become governor again comes to pass. ‘‘This programme is unique because, while some aspirants were busy distributing rice and fowls, which would be consumed and pass out as waste, Segun Oni was offering life-time assistance in the way of scholarship.
‘‘With the offering of foreign scholarships to these 63 students of Ekiti indigenes, it is crystal clear that he was not giving them fish to eat. ‘‘He was rather teaching them how to fish, thereby making them to be a developmental tool for the Ekiti of our dream tomorrow. ‘‘We are proud of Chief Segun Oni,’’ he said. Newsmen report that the aspirant on Aug. 10, inaugurated an organisation, the Youth Progressives aimed at fishing out talents of youths from the 177 political wards of the state. The students are expected to depart Nigeria for Brazil in February, 2018 to commence the Brazilian academic year. The event was attended by wife of the aspirant, Mrs Olukemi Oni, officials of the Embassy of Brazil in Nigeria, Mrs Hyrlni Tarfa and Mr Adeniran Arimoro. Others at the programme included the state APC executives, represented by Prince Adegoroye Bamgboye, State Welfare Secretary and Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu, State Assistant Legal Adviser.
NAN
