OBA’S scholarship Scheme has added yet another feather to its hat of educational excellence as 62 scholars graduate in the 2022 academic year.
Senator Bassey Albert Akpan’s scholarship scheme with over 481 beneficiaries has again recorded another landmark academic distinction.
Six beneficiaries of the scheme, which is the leading scholarship endeavour in the state, graduated with first-class honours at the end of the 2021/2022 academic session.
This was disclosed during the annual appraisal briefing of the programme held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, recently.
The list shows that Emmanuel Edet Edem distinguished himself with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.70 (first class honours) in the Department of Soil Science, Akwa Ibom State University.
while Linda Michael also bagged first-class with a CGPA of 4.60 from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Uyo.
An entrepreneur, Abasiofon Ime Moses, also carved a niche for herself, graduating with a CGPA of 4.53 (first class honours) from the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Uyo.
while Uyai Abasi Anietie Ikidde of the Department of Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurum, also distinguished herself.
Ediomo Okon, who finished as overall best in the qualifying examination for the second phase of the scholarship scheme in 2019, is set to smash academic records in the Faculty of Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, with a CGPA of 4.80 from the Department of Civil Engineering.
In June 2022, Inimfon Edem, a (first-class) graduate of Chemical and Petrochemical Engineering from the Akwa Ibom State University, took to Twitter to attest to the impact of the scheme. Edem, through his handle @god_edem, poured encomiums on Senator Akpan for giving him a lifeline.
The appraisal also highlighted that six (6) medical students and five (5) pharmaceutical students also graduated at the end of the academic session. Forty-one (41) others bagged second-class honours in their respective programmes.
A management team member of the scholarship programme, Dr Promise Etim, hinted that of the 481 beneficiaries, 357 have graduated, with more than 80% expected to complete their respective programmes by the end of the 2022/2023 academic session.
He said the scheme gulped nearly two hundred million (N200m) so far, with the tuition fees of beneficiaries paid in full, while they are also entitled to a stipend of ten thousand nairas (N10,000) every semester.
In a recent interview, Senator Akpan disclosed that the scheme is his pet project, which he christens a ‘Social Contract’ with students of Akwa Ibom in State and Federal Institutions that have distinguished themselves in their academic pursuit, irrespective of social class, financial status, ethnic biases, and others.
Senator Akpan is the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the Governorship election of Akwa Ibom State billed for Saturday, March 11, 2023.
He has promised to float an all-inclusive scholarship programme for thousands of Akwa Ibomites and increase budgetary provision for the education sector to 15% by 2024.
The Akwa Ibom State budget has averaged 5.2% for education in the past ten (10) years.
