Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, has said that her philanthropic disposition in life has nothing to do with politics, even as she asked the beneficiaries of her educational awards to properly utilise them to become useful citizens.
Onyejeocha, representing Isuikwuato-Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia, said this while giving out cheques to register 1,000 candidates for the 2022 West Africa School Certificate Examinations (WASCE).
The cheques, which covered the WASCE registration fees, were handed over to the principals of all the public secondary schools, plus some selected private schools in the constituency.
In a speech before handing out the cheques at her Isuochi country home, the lawmaker said the payment also included candidates in Methodist Girls Model Secondary School, Ovim Isuikwuato and Wesley International College, Isuochi, her Alma Mater.
She described the gesture as her own contribution to lift the financial burden from indigent parents and guardians struggling to give their children and wards basic education.
Onyejeocha said that the gesture had no political undertone, pointing out that she had been involved in philanthropy before joining politics.
She said: “It is not about politics but concern for my people. “I remember that in my own time, I could not raise money to purchase JAMB form and registration deadline ended two days before help could come my way.
“This is what drives my passion to help students now that God gave me the grace to give succour to the poor. “I know there are people from poor families, who cannot easily register for WASCE. So, this gesture has o given them hope.
“I won’t reduce the welfare of my constituents to politics. I don’t care which party their parents belong. My concern is to affect lives for the good of our society”.
Onyejeocha further said that the list of beneficiaries included indigent students, whose fees she decided to refund to their parents and admonished the beneficiaries to be focused and believe in their dreams, notwithstanding the present economic condition of their families.
The federal lawmaker also used the event to distribute 294 bags of fertiliser to farmers in the constituency, ahead of this year’s farming season.
Mr John Ihionu of Nneato Secondary School, who spoke on behalf of other school principals, thanked Onyejeocha “for this kind and wonderful gesture” and appealed to other well-meaning Abia indigenes to emulate the good gestures of the legislator.
According to him, her intervention since the past three years has encouraged many dropouts in the area to return to complete their secondary education.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
