The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence and Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti Corruption, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, on Monday, flagged off the second phase of the disbursement of multimillion naira bursaries to no fewer than three hundred and fourty six (346), orphans in the State.
The bursaries were provided by the Saudi Arabia based, International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), to assist the orphans to pursue both western and Islamic education, at all levels.
The beneficiaries of the second phase of the invaluable gesture were drawn from seven local governments which include Dange/Shuni, Binji, Wamakko, Bodinga, Sokoto South, Sokoto North and Yabo.
Each of the beneficiaries was given the minimum N 166,670 and the maximum of over N309,000, Wamakko’s spokesman Bashir Rabe Mani said in a statement.
Speaking at the epoch-making event, held at his Constituency Office, Garba Duba Road, Sokoto, Wamakko said that, the gesture was aimed at assisting the beneficiaries to achieve their life goals, which include acquiring both western and Islamic education.
Represented by a former Commissioner of Environment, Alhaji Muhammadu Bello Sifawa, Wamakko stated: “These life goals include education, general well-being, feeding and other social needs of the orphans.
“All religions, especially Islam, encourage offering assistance to orphans and the neeedy, in general.
“Doing so bolsters peace, unity, cohesion and tranquillity in the society, hence, all those privileged individuals and groups should extend their widow’s mite to the less privileged persons.”
The lawmaker admonished the beneficiaries to use the funds for the purposes they were meant and vowed to strictly monitor the usage of the money.
The Sokoto State Coordinator of IIRO, Alhaji Bashir Muhammad Sokoto, disclosed that, four hundred and eighteen (418), orphans benefitted from the gesture under the first phase of the disbursement of the bursaries, out of the 1,176 orphans who scaled the initial screening.
According to the Coordinator, subsequent phases of the disbursement will soon be conducted, while the scheme is expected to be sustained for the next ten years.
A cross section of the beneficiaries commended Wamakko for attracting the gesture to the state when he was the Governor of the state, as well as IIRO for finding them worthy of benefitting from the unparalleled support.
They pledged to use the funds for the purposes they were meant for, so as not to defeat the aims of the invaluable gesture.
