By Ozioruva Aliu

In a heart-warming display of kindness, Hon. Charity Aiguobarueghian, the Minority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, has donated 50 chairs to Eresonyen Secondary School in Oluku, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Edo State. He also donated 40 chairs to Isiuwa Primary School in NIFOR.  

Aiguobarueghian’s gesture has brought immense joy to the students, who were before now, sitting on bare floor.  The donation is part of his ongoing efforts to support education in his constituency.    

He  has also enrolled 182 indigent students for the 2026 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exam, easing the financial burden on families and ensuring that no qualified student is denied the opportunity to sit for the examination due to economic constraints.

NDV learned that his commitment to supporting young people is inspired by his own experience, when he and his younger brother almost missed out on WAEC registration due to financial difficulties.

Investigations revealed a large number of schools begging for infrastructural adjustment despite efforts by the Governor Monday Okpebholo administration to create a befitting learning environment for pupils and students in public schools.

The sorry state of the public schools is blamed on the failure of the immediate past administration to sustain the massive renovation, reconstruction and furnishing work embarked upon when Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was the governor of the state.

How I was moved to donate 

furniture

Aiguobarueghian said he was on a monitoring mission to the school on the level of response to the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in his constituency when he noticed the poor learning environment.

“I was on a routine check, sort of monitoring the Continuous Voters Registration at Eresonyen Primary School in Oluku, Ward 6 of my constituency when somebody drew my attention to the fact that the pupils were sitting on bare floor. I thought that at a time like this, we would have gone past that level, especially for a town along the road. I introduced myself to them and told them that they will get a respite soon.  

“My intention was that I will let my carpenter fix about 50 chairs for them. I mentioned to them that before the end of next month (March), they will get it but when I called my carpenter, he told me that some chairs I made last November are still in the store. So, I was able to take 50 of the chairs to Oluku to the joy of the children.”

WAEC enrolment

Speaking on the 182 indigent students enrolled for the 2026 WAEC exams,  Aiguobarueghian emphasized that investing in education is an investment in the future of Ovia North-East I.

“Every year I do registration for people and it is actually inspired by the fact that when in 1994 I was not going to enrol because there was no money to do so, when the principal of my school went to the Ministry of Education to submit our list, he did not see my name and my younger brother’s name on the list.  

“He (principal) said, how will I submit a list where the two most prospective result- oriented students are not included? So, he came back to the school and made sure that we enrolled. 

“That was how we eventually enrolled in that set. So, reminiscing on this matter, I remembered that it may be possible that some persons are not able to register for WAEC for lack of funds, so I activated the machinery in the local government in my constituency through the principals.”  

“It was very disturbing that sometimes when you call for applications, they don’t even have what to start with as a baseline. So that is what I intend to solve in my constituency.  I told them that whether I am in government or not, I intend to sustain this one particularly,” he said.