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Ogun commences payment of N10,000 cash award to 100,000 indigent students
The Ogun State Government has commenced the payment of N10,000 cash award to 100,000 indigent students across the state.
The payment is in fulfilment of the promise made by the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun to pay N10,000 to indigent pupils and students in the state’s primary and secondary schools.
Speaking while monitoring the disbursement of the money in some schools in Abeokuta, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu noted that the payment was one of the strategies used by the governor to provide succour to parents as a result of the present economic situation in the country.
Prof. Arigbabu noted that the gesture was meant to provide succour to pupils and their parents.
He said, “In view of the economic realities in the country, the governor decided to provide succour to the people of the state using multiplicity approaches to achieve this.
“He believes that another strategy that could be used which has never been used by any government before is the health and education sectors to reach the populace. Through the education sector, you can truly reach out to those who need the palliative.
“We have over 2, 000 primary and secondary schools in all the four divisions of the state, and 100,000 learners in these schools would receive N10,00 each.”
He emphasised that the government decided to pay through parents whose children are in public primary and secondary schools as the children do not have bank accounts due to their age.
“As we meet and give the parents the governor’s message, they are receiving the alert for payment.The governor’s gesture is to support the parents in meeting their children’s needs,” he added.
On how the children were chosen, the commissioner maintained that the process was objective, adding that it was easy to come up with the list of indigent students as teachers who are part of the school system were given the burden to find the indigent students as they are the closest to them.
“That is why we have not involved anybody who is not in the school system. The school system is not political. Civil servants are not supposed to be politicians, so the principals and the teachers have selected these children based on the fact that they have always seen them to be indigent students.
“How do they know them? These are children without shoes, some of them have torn uniforms, some don’t have enough exercise books, and some can’t even buy textbooks. There are a number of things they would have seen, some of them, it is these teachers that will be contributing money to the support system.
“I can assure you that the children we have chosen are children that are indigent. To confirm that for you, a parent came to me, she said that her child in this school was chosen, but she has another child in another school that was not chosen. That is telling you that indigency is relative,” he said.
He disclosed that 50,000 students of Ogun State origin in both public and private tertiary institutions have been captured to be paid N50,000 each.
The payment, he said, has started with about 20,000 students to be covered by the end of the week.
“At the tertiary level, we are giving out N50,000 to each student. We have captured 50,000 students from all the tertiary institutions whose details have been submitted to us after we wrote to the Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts.
“We are paying directly to the students to ensure that the money gets to them. We started payment last week, and we have paid over 10,000 students, and before the end of this week, we would have paid 20,000,” the commissioner assured.
Prof. Arigbabu also revealed that five exercise books would be given to 850,000 primary and secondary school learners, including those who did not benefit from the N10,000, adding that the governor was also preparing another package for the education sector.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, who also monitor the disbursement exercise, opined that money would make a difference in the lives of those who really need it, noting that those who have received their alert have promised to make judicious use of it.
Speaking in an interview, the Principal, Baptist Boys High School (Junior), Lasabi Olarenwaju, noted that some of the beneficiaries were chosen based on the inability of their parents to cater for their basic needs,adding that the gesture by Governor Dapo Abiodun would go a long way in helping the beneficiaries.
Mrs. Odutayo Titilope, Principal, Senior School, Lisabi Grammar School, Idia-Aba, said 120 students were registered to benefit from the cash award.
Alhaji AbdulRahaman, a parent whose child is in African Church Grammar School, appreciated the governor for the gesture, saying it would go a long way in meeting the needs of his child, while Mrs Funmi Alaka, a widow, appreciated Governor Abiodun for the kind gesture, saying the cash award would help her in getting some of the things needed by her daughter.
Zainab Babatunji and Abosede Ashamu, whose wards attend Holy Prophets Primary School, said though they initially had doubt about the workability of the cash award, the fact that they have received the money is a testimony that it is not fake and the governor has the interest of the people at heart.
Iyabo Kushimo, whose child attends Ebenezer Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Saje, Abeokuta, also confirmed the receipt of the N10,000 cash award, saying she would use the money to buy school sandals and use the other part to pay her child’s transport fare.
Other schools visited by the Commissioner included, Abeokuta Grammar School, African Church Grammar School, Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Saje High School, Ebenezer Grammar School, Unity High School, Lisabi Grammar School, Idia-Aba, Ebenezer Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Saje, Holy Prophets Primary School, Adedotun, and Agunbiade Victory High School, Magbon, all in Abeokuta.
Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has disclosed that his principal, President Bola Tinubu, subsidised the 2024 Hajj with N90 billion.
He stated this when he represented Tinubu to flag off the inaugural airlift of the 2024 Hajj exercise from Nigeria to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.
Shettima urged the intending pilgrims to pray for peace, unity, and progress in the country, urging the intending pilgrims to abide by all rules and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and urged them to avoid any illicit act capable of affecting the integrity of their Hajj.
“Mr president has been committed to this year’s Hajji due to the economic situation, he has also contributed the sum of N90 billion to subsidise this year’s Hajj exercise to have a smooth and successful exercise.
”You may recall that this year, we had a major challenge in announcing the final hajj fare for the 2024 Muslim pilgrimage due to fluctuation in foreign exchange rates.
”President Bola Tinubu also works round the clock to control the downward spiral of our local currency to bring relief to our pilgrims and other Nigerians.
”A move that eventually succeeded in lowering the fare. The President approved the release of N90 billion to subsidised the cost of pilgrimage for this year’s hajj.”
He said that the government of Renewed Hope led by Tinubu attaches immense importance to religious pilgrimage due to the role it plays in transforming behavioral and social vices of the believers beyond performing the pilgrimage.
Earlier in his remarks, the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, said this year’s Hajji signifies a sacred journey for thousands of devoted pilgrims who embarked on a spiritual voyage to the Holy Land.
He explained further that Hajj is a time to honoured tradition that holds great significance for Muslims around the world.
“It is a journey of faith, devotion, and unity where believers come together to fulfill one of the five pillars of Islam, the pilgrimage to Mecca is a profound experience that fosters a sense of community, humility, and spiritual renewal,” he said
The governor urged the people that they should remember the significance of this sacred ritual, adding that Hajji remained a testament to the unity of Muslim Ummah, transcending geographical boundaries and cultural differences.
“It is a time for reflection, prayer, and seeking forgiveness, as well as an opportunity for personal growth and self-discovery,” he added.
He commended the Federal Government, National Hajji Commission, and those that were involved for their commitment to the successful exercise.
Idris noted with satisfaction that Kebbi was the first state to remit 2024 Hajj fare in Nigeria, adding the intending pilgrims from Kebbi were given special treatment by the present administration to comfort them toward a successful Hajj exercise.
The governor said his administration had spent N900 for infrastructural development of the Hajj Camp in Birnin Kebbi to make it more conducive for the intending pilgrims
In his remarks, the NAHCON National Chairman, Alhaji Jalai Ahmad Arabi, thanked the President and Kebbi governor for their support and cooperation towards the success of this year’s Hajji exercise.
The Federal Government has announced N318.5bn revenue inflow in the first quarter of 2024, the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja.
Madein stated this while briefing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, on the revenue performance of the various agencies of government in the first quarter of 2024.
Represented by the Director, Revenue and Investment in the Office of the Accountant General, Maiden, noted that the 2024 fiscal year would be exceptional in terms of revenue generation, owing to the policies of the President Bola Tinubu-led government.
She said, “Reconciliation is still being done but the total revenue inflows to the Federal Government for January to March amounts to N318.5bn as against a total budget of 2.691tn.
“For the budget, the bottom-up cash planning policy is on course and the 2024 budget is going to be implemented via that policy. Officers have been retained and sensitization is ongoing to ensure that Ministries, Departments and Agencies are well equipped on the modalities and conditionalities.”
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Armstrong Takang, who also briefed the lawmakers, disclosed that some agencies under MOFI have so far declared dividends of N101bn.
Takang said, “So far, we have received dividends declared by some companies. But for many others, their reports are either being prepared and have not been completed or have been completed but they have not gone to their boards for approval and subsequently the Annual General Meeting. As such, we cannot use the number of their dividends until that has been done based on the corporate governance rules.
“Based on the number so far, it is about N101 billion from the entities we have identified. We continue with other entities whose dividends have not been paid to ensure we go through the process of them passing it at the board level and the AGM before the figures are sent to us and the money rendered to the treasury.”
The Chairman of the Committee, James Faleke, in his intervention, directed all the agencies under MOFI to furnish the parliament with their annual report for the past 10 years.
According to him, “All organisations under MOFI should produce their annual report for the past 10 years and the dividend that ought to have been paid, what ought to have been paid, and what was paid by each of the agencies, and of course evidence of payments.”
Earlier, Faleke who represents Ikeja Federal Constituency, Lagos State, explained that the session was in in line with the oversight function of the committee to ensure that the revenue targets of the various agencies in the 2024 fiscal year are met.
“We have to ensure that those estimates are met. The appropriation has become a law and so the revenue that you are proposing to generate in the year, we take it upon ourselves to do it every quarter to measure your performance.
“We want to ensure that revenue activities from January to March are in line with your appropriation. When you are giving us your figure, you tell us what the figure was expected for the generation and what you have achieved,” he added.
The amendment bill also seeks for the involvement of States Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards in feeding of pilgrims in Madina and Masha’ir under regulation of NAHCON.
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