The first lady, at the maiden ceremony of the initiative, said each beneficiary would get N4 million across four academic sessions, and a new laptop.
The first lady further said the Renewed Hope Initiative scholarship was a transformative scheme that had the promise of changing lives and shaping the destiny of youths across the nation.
She said it was a collective responsibility of the populace to provide every child with quality education and give the opportunity of helping the youth to reach their highest potentials, regardless of their background.
She said: “it is disheartening to know that numerous youths across our nation are unable to afford the cost of tertiary education due to financial limitation.”
She, however, acknowledged that quality education was not just a fundamental right of every child but a key to unlock doors to a promising future and help to empower individual families and the entire communities.
“What we are witnessing today is being done to support and complement President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s drive at making tertiary education accessible, especially with the introduction of students loan scheme.
“The RHI scholarship programme is a commitment and a promise that we make today to identify with the youths, to say to them that their dreams and aspiration matter.
“Through this programme, we seek not only to provide financial assistance but also foster an environment where talents are nurtured and where potential is recognised.
The first lady said the organisation, through the scholarship scheme, envisioned a country where every child, regardless of their circumstances, could access the best education.
“This scholarship is about igniting curiosity, sparkling innovations and fostering the love for learning that will transcend generation; therefore, I urge all beneficiaries to study hard, work hard and make the best use of the opportunity offered to them today.
She also acknowledged the stakeholders and called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the RHI in all its goals, to be able to reach many Nigerians and make life easy for people.
“This initiative is not an isolated effort; it is a collective endeavour that requires the involvement of all stakeholders; I appreciate Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) for the donation of 50 laptops in support of Renewed Hope Initiative.
She further commended all the coordinators, including governors’ wives, the wives of service chiefs and other organisations for their support in ensuring that the programme became a reality.
Four of the awardees — Adijat Ayodele from Kwara, Daniel Sunmonu from Ekiti, Eze Ijeoma fro Anambra and Usman Sanni, a Chemistry student of federal University of Dutsimma, Katsina- said they were happy over the grant.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that beneficiaries were drawn from the 36 states of the Federation, including the FCT, with criteria for each awardee to be a nominee of their respective state governor.
Other criteria include proof of admission with any of the Nigeria tertiary institutions of learning, a citizen with good academic grades and one who maintains a GPA of 3:0 and above. (NAN)
