NEPAD/RHI, to award 200 students scholarship

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), has agreed to partner with the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), founded by the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, to give 200 Nigerian students scholarships. The plan was unveiled when Ms Gloria Akobundu, the National Coordinator, NEPAD and Mr Obinna Obiwulu, the Director of Communications, African School of Economics (ASE), visited Mrs Tinubu, on Wednesday in Abuja. Akobundu said NEPAD was known for partnering with both the public and private sectors, boosting the governance structure and encouraging development and economic growth, qualities the RHI possessed, and which attracted the organisation to work with it. She said NEPAD, which had been transformed into the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), following the pledge by African leaders to push the goals of the organisation further, had a common vision of eradicating poverty in the country. “In line with our mandate, AUDA-NEPAD, in partnership with ASE on development, economic and resource mobilisation, is offering scholarships to 200 children, captioned Sen. Remi Tinubu’s Scholarship Fund, in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative. “The project is designed to provide equal opportunity of access to the highest global standards of tertiary education to young Nigerians. “We don’t do it alone; we have to identify our relevant partners to work with them to give good governance to our people, in consideration of the endpoint agenda of this present administration.’’ According to the NEPAD coordinator, it is imperative that the two organisations network and partner with relevant agencies that are ready to work with them for a common goal of development and economic growth. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that NEPAD is an economic development programme of the African Union, which was adopted by the bloc at the 37th Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. In her response, the first lady, who expressed delight over the partnership, said she looked forward to a robust collaboration with NEPAD. (NAN)