The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), kmnmown as the Sokoto Cement, has begun disbursement of N5 million annual scholarship bursaries to 50 students as part of its corporate social responsibilities.
Presenting the award letters to beneficiaries on Wednesday, the Managing Director of CCNN, Alhaji Ibrahim Aminu, said the gesture was to complement Gov. Aminu Tambuwal’s declaration of state of emergency on education in Sokoto State.
Aminu, represented by a Director, Mr Aminu Bashir, said beneficiaries were drawn from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, noting that the students were carefully selected.
He said the bursaries were designed in phases, adding that each benefiting student would collect N100,000 annually.
The managing director said 15 slots were allocated to Sokoto, adding that the host communities in Wamakko Local Government Area got 15 slots.
He said that the other 20 slots were allocated to Kebbi and Zamfara, and expressed optimism that the gesture would complement government’s efforts to provide qualitative education to the nation’s future leaders.
He said that effective evaluation measures had been provided to ensure supervision of beneficiaries, adding that the company would not hesitate to withdraw the award from any student that failed to meet the required standards.
“I want to assure that CCNN will continue to partner with government by supporting projects that have direct bearing on our communities within the company’s available resources in the areas of education, health, infrastructure, skill acquisition and other empowerment.’’
The Sokoto State Commissioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Sahabi Isa-Gada, said the government, in the last two weeks, disbursed N909 million as bursaries to students studying in different institutions of higher learning within and outside Nigeria.
Isa-Gada said the CCNN gesture would complement government efforts on the development of education as its declaration of state of emergency on education had started yielding positive results with increased enrollment and percentage of students studying at tertiary institutions.
He said very soon, the state would rank among the educationally developed states with high number of professionals and higher literacy level in the country.
Alhaji Aminu Hassan, who spoke on behalf of parents, expressed appreciation over the gesture, noting that it would reduce their burden and enhance students’ academic wellbeing.
Hassan enjoined other corporate bodies to emulate CCNN, stressing that government’s burdens were enormous and when complemented, it would lead to achievement of desired successes.
Some students, Rabi’atu Umar, Hajara Ibrahim and Surajo Aliyu, expressed happiness over the support and said it would assist them to have maximum concentration on their studies. (NAN)