A lawmaker in Lagos, Mr Rasheed Makinde, gave out 50 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), forms to students in his constituency on Friday.
Makinde, representing Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency II at the Lagos State House of Assembly, advised candidates sitting the 2017 UTME to work hard and excel.
“During my electioneering, one of the cardinal contents of my manifesto was to target the youths as beneficiaries of my empowerment packages.
“This is the second phase; we also had it in 2016, and the essence is to help the weak and the less privileged to progress so that they can stand on their own.
“Today, we are giving students UTME forms.
“Having registered them for the examination being conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, we have removed the financial constraints against sitting for the examination.’’
According to the assemblyman, the gesture is borne out of his passion for qualitative education and youth development.
“I am seeing great men and women of tomorrow here who will soon be making waves all over the world. It is my own way of contributing to the society and development of education.”
Makinde said he had facilitated employment for over 80 indigent people from his constituency.
Chief Adewale Bello, Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), in the local government, lauded the parliamentarian for the gesture.
“The best investment anybody can make is to educate the children, to secure a future for them.
“We appreciate this gesture by our lawmaker, we want more of this. We need people like this in the corridor of power. It is nice, I am happy, he is doing well”, he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Master Kayode Alagbe, commended the lawmaker for the gesture.
Alagbe, 15, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the lawmaker made the registration stress free for them. (NAN)