By Boluwaji Obahopo LOKOJA

Kogi State government had barred a member of the House of Representatives of Yagba Federal Constituency, Hon Leke Abejide from paying the WAEC fees of the final year students in Kabba community, headquarters of Kogi West Senatorial district.

The Reps member who has been paying WAEC fees of students in Yagba Federal Constituency in the last five years decided to extend the good gestures to other federal constituencies in the Kogi west senatorial district.

Thus, several schools have been slated to benefit from the philanthropic gestures of the Lawmaker which is expected to run for four days starting from Okebukun High School which was already carried out by 10.00 am on Friday.

However, when it was the turn of Kabba, schools principals from the community who were supposed to converged at St. Augustine college were absent to receive the cheques for their school.

The House of Reps member who is seeking for second term under the platform of ADC along with his long convoy was reliably informed that ‘an order from above’ said the students or the principals must not come out to receive the already prepared cheques

The Lawmaker who expressed sadness that the students were not allowed to benefit from the scheme expressed surprise that the Principal did not inform him earlier inspite of his several communications with them over the programme.

He said the money allocated for the WAEC payment was his personal funds and not that of government which he said was aimed to cushion the plights of parents and students and not aimed at scoring cheap publicity saying he has been doing this long before he became a Lawmaker.

Hon. Abejide stressed that he was one of the strong supporters of Governor Yahaya Bello who worked for his re election in 2019 stressing he has never criticized nor done anything to undermine the governor’s interest in the past and wonder why he was not allowed to render this humanitarian gesture.

The president of Kabba Development Union, Emmanuel Ajibero who described Abejide’s gesture as novel and encouraging said the WAEC payment will indeed help many of the students especially the indigent to concentrate more on their studies while it will serves as a great relief to parents.

The director general Leke Abejide foundation under which the WAEC grant is being carried out, Mr Shola Adebola however, said considering the plights of some aged parents who were already seated for the ceremony, the Lawmaker will still come back tomorrow morning by 10. 00 am to give out cheques to students and urged their parents to be punctual

Those in the entourage of the Lawmaker are top politicians in the area including ADC senatorial candidate, Dele Williams, the Kabba-Bunu/ Ijumu Reps candidate, Architect Salman Idris and the Kabba- Bunu House Assembly candidate, Ayodeji Olumudi.

It will be recalled that the Kogi central senatorial candidate for PDP , Mrs Natasha Uduagha was also barred from paying WAEC fees of students in Ebira land. The state government however denied having hand in it.