The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has presented a total sum of N18.5 Million as scholarships to 37 undergraduate students in his Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district, for the 2023/2024 academic year.
The Senator added brand new laptops to the cash for the beneficiary students, at a meeting of stakeholders of Ikot Ekpene senatorial district, held at the Ati Annang hall, Ikot Ekpene, yesterday, January 19.
Presenting the cheques of N500,000 and a brand new laptop to each of the 37 beneficiaries, Senator Akpabio, said that each of them will also receive N500,000 per session throughout the duration of their academic programmes.
“This is the 2023 batch. We will select the beneficiaries for 2024. Those who cannot be accommodated under the scholarship will receive bursary.”
A statement today, by his spokesman, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh said that over 250 students took part in the selection examination for the scholarship.
Eyiboh said that students in the multi-million Naira scholarship, launched under the canopy of “Senator Godswill Akpabio Educational Foundation “SGAEF,” will receive N2 million and N2.5 million each for those studying a-four and five years course respectively under the scholarship scheme.
Eyiboh quoted Senator Akpabio as promising too that his medical outreach will be continuous across all the local government areas in the senatorial district.
The Senate President also pledged to work hard to ensure that many more people felt the impact of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.
“Our medical outreach will be continuous in all the local government areas across the senatorial district. I will do everything possible to make sure you are comfortable. Is it promotion, you will have it; appointments, you will have it; empowerment, you will have it; my prayers, you will have it; my love, you have it already.
“Let me assure you that everyone will feel the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope.”
Senator Akpabio had met with stakeholders of Eket and Uyo senatorial districts a day before, January 18 and thanked them for their support for President Bola Tinubu.
He assured them that the State will reap the full benefits of their support for the APC-led federal government.
At Eket, he assured the stakeholders that all Social Intervention Programmes of the federal government aimed to improve the economic well-being of the people will be disbursed appropriately, appealed to the beneficiaries of the scheme who have not yet received their payment to be patient, saying the delay was due to ongoing investigation in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
Senator Akpabio tasked appointees from the State to prioritise the welfare of their constituents, saying that the Renewed Hope agenda of the Tinubu’s administration was about social inclusion.
In Uyo senatorial, Senator Akpabio urged the stakeholders to work in unity for the good of the Party, saying that God will anoint someone from the district to be the first APC Governor of the State in 2027.
The Senate President called on the State Chairman of the APC, Stephen Ntukekpo to immediately set up reconciliation committees across senatorial districts of the State to ensure proper healing, integration and unification amongst all interests in the Party.
The State Chairman of APC, Mr Stephen Ntukekpo, commended the Senate President for ensuring stability and unity of purpose and direction in the 10th senate which he noted has so far provided healthy synergy with the Executive arm.
Ntukekpo said that Akpabio is fulfilling the promise he made in 2018 to connect Akwa Ibom State to the centre by bringing the federal government closer to the people of the State through different beneficial programmes and projects.
During the meeting, the Senate President doled out gifts to the 31 local government areas in the State in celebration of the new year.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has announced the arrest of one Chinaza Phillip, described as “a notorious Abuja kidnapper.”
A statement today, January 19, by the Command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said that Chinaza Phillip was arrested by police operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command yesterday, January 18.
“The suspect has been handed over to FCT police Command today being Friday 19th January, 2024, and currently in police custody.”
She promised that more details will be communicated soon.

Chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has listed things that the Commission can do jointly with the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to tackle fraud in the administration of taxes.
The ICPC boss spoke today, January 18, when he visited him the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to open talks on how to tackle fraud in tax administration in the country.
The ICPC boss dentified three crucial areas in which the two agencies could explore to mitigate financial tax frauds and other corrupt vices.
“First of all, there are three critical areas which we need to look at. First to consider is the issue of sharing information between the two organizations and integration of technology.
“We need to set up a structured process of regular information sharing between us so as to detect potential corruption or fraudulent activities in tax-related matters.
“You have the expertise on tax and we have the mandate of preventing corruption, so I believe effective collaboration would help to identify and tackle the fraudulent practices in the system”
“The second area is the issue of joint investigation and legal reforms. This is an area which the ICPC and the FIRS need to come together because we know that sometimes corruption also come in form of tax evasion and other means of fraud.
“Then the last is the issue of capacity building, which is very important because no organisation can perform its function effectively without the support of the government. We can come together to train or organise programs jointly for members of our staff and organisations so as to enhance our skills and knowledge in detecting and preventing corruption which is related to the issue of tax system in this country.”
The ICPC Boss, who also advocated for a cross-agency committee that will be reviewing and addressing the critical areas of partnership, promised that ICPC is one hundred percent ready to give the FIRS the needed support in the interest of the country’s development.
On his part, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr. Zacch A. Adedeji, expressed delight about ICPC’s visit and the expression of interest to help the revenue-generating agency tackle tax-related frauds in Nigeria.
“I am hopeful and optimistic that we will collaborate effectively, and I am particularly delighted that with your support, our enforcement mandate on tax-matters will improve.
“We will also develop a framework and we will use technology to do so and I believe you are a ready-made partner for us in the area of revenue generation and the progress, not only for individual agencies but for the federal government as a whole.”

Ebira People Association (EPA) and other stakeholders have began the mobilisation of people to the swearing-in of Ahmed Usman Ododo as the new Governor of Kogi State, scheduled for January 27 in Lokoja, the State capital.
In a communique at the end of its meeting, with other similar organisations in attendance, EPA called on all sons and daughters of the Egbira nation to make deliberate efforts to be present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Governor-Elect.
“We should assert our presence and publicly demonstrate our solidarity with the incoming government.”
The communique, signed by the President General of EPA, Dr. Oyibo Godwin, also called on the sons and daughters of the Egbira nation to consider the appointment of Alhaji Dr Ahmed Tijani Anaje as the new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, “as an act of God without whom it would not have been possible in the first place.
“Essentially, all sons and daughters of Ebira who had aspired to occupy the revered stool but lost out in the process should accept it as a divine act by the almighty God who will reward their contributions to the land in ways that please Him.”
The stakeholders advised the new King to reach out to all aspirants in the said kingship selection process, as well as prominent individuals and organizations in the land, with a view to bringing them on board for the peace and development projects of Ebiraland.
They further advised the new King to immediately assume the rallying point posture that is necessary for the peace, unity and progress of the Egbira nation.
The stakeholders frowned at the use of voice notes and write-ups on WhatsApp media platforms to insult and cause division among Egbira people and urged all organizations operating the group WhatsApp Platforms to disallow such posts on their platforms forthwith.
Part of the communique goes thus:
In furtherance of its efforts to continually engage all stakeholders of the Egbira nation for peaceful and harmonious coexistence, EPA summoned a critical stakeholders’ meeting primarily to assess some current situations in the land, particularly as it concerns the appointment of the new Ohinoyi of Ebira, and the forthcoming swearing-in ceremony of the new administration of the Governor-Elect Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo.
The meeting, which was co-chaired by the President-General, Ebira People’s Association (EPA) Dr. Oyibo Godwin, the Chairman of the Kogi Central Elders Forum (KCEF) Adai Stephen Yakubu and the President-General of Ebira Youth Congress (EYC), Comrade Obiyo Ateiza, was attended by sixty-two participants, representing fifty-one organizations, cutting across communities, civil society groups and faith- based organizations across Ebiraland.
Specifically, among others, the meeting deliberated extensively on the following and noted that:
1. The swearing in ceremony of the Governor-Elect of Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo is slated for the 27th day of January, 2024 at the State Capital, Lokoja. it was emphasized that the event is very important for the Ebira nation and that should be accorded the needed participation.
2. The process of the appointment of the new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland had been concluded, culminating in the appointment of His Royal Highness, Alhaji Dr Ahmed Tijani Anaje, the former Ohi of Okengwe as the new Ohinoyi of Ebiraland. He has since been given his letter of appointment and turbaned on the 10th of January, 2024 in his palace at Okengwe.
3. Alongside the appointment of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, two prominent traditional rulers in Kogi Central Senatorial District; the Obobanyi of Ihima, His Royal Highness, Chief Samuel Adayi Onimisi and the Olu of Magongo, His Royal Highness, Chief Sam Bola Ojoa were deposed and banished to Niger State. The title of the Obobanyi of Ihima was redesigned to read “Obobanyi of Emani.”
4. While the meeting requested the leadership of EPA to carefully understudy and act appropriately after its findings on the issues, it passionately appealed to His Excellency, Alh Yahaya Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, to take a second look at the matter of the aforementioned royal fathers with a view to reconsidering its verdicts where it maybe appropriate.
5. An ugly development that centred on the use of voice notes on WhatsApp to insult, distort history and ostensibly to cause division among Egbira people, particularly since the conclusion of kingship selection exercise and the appointment of a substantive Ohinoyi must be stopped by all involved.