Awadzi Centre for Empowerment and Education ( ACEE) has awarded 100 Nasarawa students scholarships to support their education.
Speaking at the distribution of cheques to beneficiaries on Thursday in Lafia, Mr Sunday Bitrus, founder of ACEE and National President of Zumunta Association USA International, said the gesture was his way of giving back to his community.
According to him, the programme, which targeted 100 beneficiaries, received over 2,000 applications from students across institutions of higher learning with emphasis on disciplines such as medicine, engineering and Information and Communication Technology ( ICT).
He stated, however, that due to limited resources, only applicants who met the criteria and were indigenes of Nasarawa State were selected.
Mr Bitrus, who has lived in the diaspora for over 25 years, acknowledged the support of the Zumunta Association in the USA, a Northern Nigerian affinity group and called on other Nigerians in the diaspora to support their community.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri, who was represented by the Head of Programmes at the Commission, Abiodu Akambi, commended the national president of the Zumunta Association, USA, Sunday Bitrus, for his initiative to give back to his community in Nigeria.
According to him, NIDCOM was established to harness the resources, skills, talents, and global exposure of over 20 million Nigerians in the diaspora for national development.
“One of the commission’s key messages is encouraging Nigerians in the diaspora to return home and invest in their communities to make Nigeria great.
“Bitrus’s initiative is a shining example of this message in action. By providing stipends to students in Nigeria, he is supporting their education and contributing to the development of his community,” he said.
For her part, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Humanitarian Services, Princess Margaret Elayo, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Yonah, appreciated the donor for launching the scholarship programme to support students in the state.
Elayo said the government was grateful to him for his kind gesture, noting that his initiative is a laudable achievement, especially since scholarships typically come from government sources.
The commissioner encouraged other individuals in the diaspora to contribute to the state’s development even as she commented on Governor Abdullahi Suleman for creating an enabling environment that fosters diaspora natives to return home and invest in their communities.
She, therefore, charged the beneficiaries to study hard, excel academically, and make their parents, the donor and the state proud.
Some of the beneficiaries, Lenient Amidu, a medical and Surgery student at the Federal University of Lafia (FuLafia), and Abdullahi Salihu, an Environmental Engineering Student at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), appreciated the donor and promised to work hard to achieve academic excellence.
