A Senator representing Sokoto East, Ibrahim Lamido, has offset half of the school fees for indigent students from his senatorial district studying at Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto.
Lamido, who disclosed this at the screening exercise for the students in Sokoto yesterday, said the gesture was part of his commitment to ease the hardship of his constituents.
Of the 1,315 benefitting students whose cost is more than N80m, the Senator would offset N43m, while the Sokoto State government will pay the other half to make sure the students have a hitch-free of financial problems.
Represented by Malam Sani Bala, the lawmaker said the students were identified through a committee across all the communities in the Eastern Senatorial District of the state.
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He said, “We have 1,315 students who are required to pay school fees of over N80m, where the Senator came in to contribute. We will assess them; give them money to continue their studies.
“We have identified the students, as you can see the screening is on and each of the beneficiaries will be credited after the exercise.
“These students are expected to pay the university over N80 million, which the state government had since paid half of the amount.
“Therefore, after the screening, the amount will be completed to each of them in order to support them to continue their studies,” he said.
Some of the beneficiaries described the lawmaker’s intervention as a saving grace to their academic pursuits.
Aliyu Sama’ila, one of the students said, “Among us were those that had written a letter to defer their studies to the next session due to the current economic hardship.
“However, with the current development, we will be able to continue with our studies and build a greater future for the benefit of all,” he said.
Sama’ila thanked the lawmaker for his foresight toward making life easier for students across the constituency.
From Nasiru Bello and Dalhatu Liman