The Unubiko Foundation has officially unveiled an N300m scholarship grant for Abia State students. The unveiling ceremony took place during a thanksgiving service held at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria in Atan Abam, Arochukwu Local Government Area, recently. The Founder of Unubiko Foundation, Chief James Ume, announced the N300 million scholarship fund earlier this month after receiving the 2023 Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards (GFIIA) for his philanthropic works.
Speaking during the Thanksgiving service, Ume, said the scholarship scheme targets the less-privileged in individuals.
“We will use every resource God has given us to worship him. As the Chairman of the Unubiko Foundation, my wife has approved and we have set aside a N300 million scholarship fund for Abia State students. “The money is already intact and I have the honour to announce that the technical committee will be headed by Dr. Agbai Eke,” Ume explained.
He said the selection process would be computerised to ensure transparency. Other members of the technical committee for the management and disbursement of the N300 million Unubiko Foundation scholarship grant include the Secretary, Engineer Okoro Kalu Christopher who is an associate professor of control system engineering and the Abia Commissioner for Education, Prof. Mrs. Eme Uche, who will serve as an adviser to the committee. Meanwhile, former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, has commended Ume for rebuilding the Onyerubi Comprehensive Secondary School in Ndi Oji Abam, Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State. The school, originally built in 1996 but left in a state of complete disrepair, was rebuilt with a N250 million intervention by the Unubiko Foundation.
Ibori, who visited Abam to inaugurate the project, expressed his appreciation for Ume’s selflessness and commitment to community development “So, let me first thank all of you for coming to join my younger brother to do what people should be doing for humanity. That is what he has done,” he said. Ibori added: “Nigeria’s development should be a village at a time, we all don’t live in the cities. Many of us weren’t born in the cities and didn’t grow up in the cities. It is these villages that have raised the greater population of our generations.”
Ibori expressed hope that the rebuilt school would bring positive change to the community. “The children that you have done this for will always remember you. “Think for once that the kids here, the way this place was described before you did this…even as I was asking you some questions over there, think for one moment that these children will grow up, school here and go to the cities and compete with some of the brightest students. You can see the ratio of the students from this school that will emerge, attending some of the big universities.”
“Please continue to pray for him (James Ume) and pray for your children too so that God will give them the zeal to come to this school,” Ibori added. Otunba Adebayo Adeniyi, a former Minister of Trade and Investment, who arrived Ndi Oji with Ibori for the inauguration, also commended Ume’s initiative. Adeniyi, a former governor of Ekiti State, acknowledged that while his own upbringing in Lagos differed from that of many who grew up in vallages, he understood the importance of education and rural development.
“Myself and my brother, Chief James Ibori, were discussing on the way here and he was telling me that I cannot relate to what they can relate to because my upbringing is different from theirs,” Adeniyi stated. “However, my late father, General Adebayo, used to do one thing. Because he grew up in the village, he wanted his children to experience village life. So, every holiday we had, he used to make sure we went to the village.”
