To honour his late son, Gbemiga Abiodun, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has awarded a total of N91,050,000 to 1000 students in the state through the Gbemiga Abiodun Memorial Education Support Programme.
According to the governor, the beneficiaries of the scholarship cut across the state’s primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions.
News About Nigeria reports that the Gbemiga Abiodun Memorial Education Support Programme is an initiative of the Ogun State Governor and his family that was established in memory of their son, Gbemiga, who passed away on October 7, 2017.
The scholarship scheme which started in 2023 is meant to cater to the academic needs of indigent students in the Remo Federal Constituency of the state.
During his lifetime, Gbemiga, who was well-known as DJ Olu in the entertainment industry, was the official DJ to David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.
During the second edition of the program, held at Christ Apostolic Grammar School in Iperu-Remo, on Monday, a total of ₦39,750,000 was awarded to 159 beneficiaries from nine tertiary institutions in the state.
Also, the foundation provided ₦14,700,000 to 294 primary school pupils and ₦36,600,000 to 366 secondary school students across the local government areas of Ikenne, Remo-North, and Sagamu.
Speaking at the event, Governor Abiodun described his late son as a serial entrepreneur who was full of life and extremely generous to those around him.
He further noted that in honour of the creative industry, which his son was a part of until his death, the foundation has introduced a new category called “The Creative Students Category.”
He further pledged his family’s commitment to continue to increase student beneficiaries while expanding the programme to other local government areas within the state.
The governor said, “We have also added another category, ‘The Creative Students Category,’ because Gbemiga was extremely creative. Applications for this category will remain open for the next few months to identify potential beneficiaries. We will continue to increase the number of student beneficiaries and expand this programme from the three Remo Local Government Areas where Gbemiga was from, to the other 17 local government areas of the state.
“Gbemiga was a serial entrepreneur from a young age, just like many of you seated here today. He was full of life, generous to a fault, and deeply compassionate, especially towards the less privileged. If Gbemiga had ₦100 and you asked for his support, he would give you the entire ₦100 before remembering to keep five Naira for himself. It brings us joy to continue this programme in memory of his character of giving, something he was very passionate about. We started this initiative last year in 2023 to turn a day of sadness into one of remembrance and to impact the lives of others.”
