…..says My three year-old Scholarship Prog liberating my young constituents from Poverty
The member representing Akoko Southeast/Akoko Southwest federal constituency of Ondo state at the House of Representatives, Hon Ade Adeogun, has revealed that the major objective of his three-year scholarship programme is not only to make its beneficiaries qualified for dignified jobs but also to improve the economic capacity of his constituents.
The revelation was made at the weekend during a media parley with members of the Ondo State Online Media Professionals held in Akure, the Ondo state Capital.
In his words, “The scholarship is a three-year programme. The first set started last year. We have the second set now, so after this we will have another year.”
He explained that the scholarship programme is geared towards lifting otherwise helpless people from their ignorant level to a level where they could acquire western education to enable them qualify for job opportunities.
According to him, “What I have done is to give them the opportunity to become qualified enough to seek jobs. Most of them have school certificate and there was no hope. Quite a number of people became motivated enough to sit for WAEC since there is now hope of furthering their education”.
Addressing the prospect of the scholarship beneficiaries getting employment, the federal lawmaker declared that “the issue of giving them jobs will come later. Now the aim is to raise the level of their education, raise the level of knowledge make them become better. This way they have better potentials to be employed.”
Hon Adeogun clarified that he has chosen to limit his focus on constituency projects in order to
improve his impact.
According to him, “I have chosen to concentrate on certain areas; education, skills. Those are the
two areas that I think will affect the level of education. The skills to build a small business environment. Let’s build a skill centre for Ondo state where everyone will come to.”
On his scorecard, Hon Adeogun expressed satisfaction on what he has been able to achieved so far since he was elected to the National Assembly.
On the 2023 polls, he went further to assert that he believes he has performed enough for a re-election, noting that ranking legislators get better on the job and influence more projects and opportunities to their constituents.
He added that a lawmaker gets better at his job and gather more influence based on the number of years in the National Assembly.
According to him, “My experience is that every legislature gets better with longevity. The more time you spend in the assembly, the more influence you get, the more experience you have.
“Each time we ask a legislator to spend one term we are shortchanging ourselves because only smart legislators will know what to do in the first two years.
“Most (of us) will spend the first two years looking around trying to figure out what is happening. We don’t get quality performance because we
short-change ourselves by believing that legislator’s election is turn by turn.
He explained further that “Sending the best hands to the legislature is not about sending a smart person but also someone who is experienced. There is a lot I need to do and there is a lot I can do, so it will be in the best interest of my people to vote me again.”
