Date: 2018-02-03

The President of the Senate, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has paid the 2018 West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examination fees of a total of 432 indigent students in Kwara Central Senatorial District.

The beneficiaries were selected through the intervention of the Kwara State chapter of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS).

Also, the senator representing Kwara South Senatorial District in the Upper House, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim distributed free examination forms of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to the 656 students of the district for the forthcoming 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

While speaking at the presentation of cash for the payment of examination fees in Ilorin, recently, Saraki said the rationale behind the gesture was to show that every child counts.

Represented by the Director General, ABS Constituency Office, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi, the Senate President noted that he was aware of the adverse effects of the current economic situation in the country, adding that he designed the programme to alleviate the suffering of the people.

He stated that the selection of the candidates for the intervention was devoid of tribal, religious or political sentiments.

Saraki enjoined the beneficiaries to make good use of the financial assistance and study well for the forthcoming examination.

"The spirit behind today's occasion is to once again demonstrate that every child counts to our Leader. The President of the Senate, being aware of the present economic situation, now came up with "ABS Free WAEC Registration.

"To achieve excellent result devoid of politics, religion or tribe, ANCOPSS in the Emirate was given the responsibility to identify the indigent students from their various schools, who could not pay their WAEC fees for 2018. From their report, they identified a total of 420 indigent students. "It is my pleasure to inform you of the Senate President's immediate approval of the full payment of the WAEC registration fees of 420 candidates for the year 2018. It is my hope that all the benefiting students will make the best use of this gesture by ensuring that they study hard for their examinations," the Director General of ABS Constituency office said.

Speaking on behalf of All Nigerian Conference of Secondary Schools (ANCOPS), Mr. Olohuntoyin Abdullahi applauded Saraki for the gesture and urged other wealthy people in the society to follow suit. During the distribution of free JAMB forms to 656 students at his Omupo constituency office in Ifelodun local government council of the state, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim said that the beneficiaries of the forms were picked from 164 Secondary Schools across seven local government areas of the senatorial district.

Represented at the event by the Director General of Rafiu Ibrahim Bilal Foundation, which spearheaded the distribution of the free forms, Dr AbdulAzeez Lawal, the lawmaker said that it was in line with his routine assistance to the less privileged.

He stated that most parents could not afford to procure the forms for their children and wards, hence the decision of the Senator to intervene.

The lawmaker said that the beneficiaries were chosen through their Principals and admonished them to make the benefactor proud. He, therefore, assured that he would soon roll out more programmes for the benefit of his constituents.