Obi Pays NECO Fees for 148 Prison Inmates in Anambra
·Donates N15m to college of nursing sciences, Onitsha
.Ex-Anambra gov, Abaribe charge students on hard work as Shanahan Varsity matriculates 694 students
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Presidential candidate of Labour Party in 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, has paid the examination fees of 148 inmates of correctional centres in Anambra State, all of whom sat for the November/December 2025 NECO GCE examinations.
He also donated N15 million to the management of School of Nursing Sciences, Borromeo in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Also, the former governor of Anambra State, Obi and the Senator representing Abia North Zone, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe have charged students on the need for hard work and to maintain integrity.
The Anambra State Coordinator of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Mrs. Emilia Njoku who received Obi during the unscheduled visit expressed surprise, saying she wasn’t expecting the presidential hopeful.
Obi said he was in the office to present a cheque to the management of the council for the payment of examination fees of the inmates who had approached him through a delegate recently, saying that the council was threatening to stop them from taking the exams.
Obi said, “When the delegation approached me, I felt bad that the candidates were going to be stopped from further participating in the examination.
“I promptly told them I would pay the fees, but shortly after that, I was reached by some of my friends in the diaspora who donated money for the payment and even made a pledge to pay in subsequent years.”
Explaining his visit to the staff of the council in their Awka office, he further stated that the representatives of the inmates who visited his home were from the Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Aguata (Ekwulobia) correctional centres.
“They visited me in Onitsha to explain their plight. Although NECO had approved their participation in the examinations, it required a letter of undertaking from a guarantor to enable payment of the fees.
“I immediately provided the required undertaking, assuring NECO of payment, and later visited the office to formally submit the cheque.”
Obi presented a cheque of N4,741,400 million to the council for 148 inmates: 50 from Awka, 36 from Onitsha, 25 from Nnewi and 37 from Aguata.
The fees paid included N30,050 per candidate and an additional N2,000 for logistics, for all the 148 inmates.
Coordinator of NECO in Anambra State, Mrs. Njoku hailed Obi for being thoughtful in coming to the rescue of the inmates, while describing education as a necessity, which even people deemed to be in a correctional centre for one offense or the other also need.
Meanwhile, Obi who donated N15 million to the management of School of Nursing Sciences, Borromeo in Onitsha, Anambra State, said the donation was part of his routine help to medical institutions to upgrade their facilities and offer better services that will boost the healthcare sector.
In another development, Obi and Abaribe charged the students on hard work during the 2025/2026 matriculation ceremony of Shanahan University, at the Holy Basilica, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The ceremony witnessed the matriculation of 694 students of the institution in the two-year-old university, with the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Rev. Fr. Prof. Josephat Oguejiofor assures that the institution is set for quality education, while stating that the standard set by the management is high and also hopes to attain it.
Speaking to the matriculating students, Obi and Abaribe charged them to aim for the top and make hard work their watchword.
Obi said, “I have always told this story, I was born here in Onitsha, and I attended Waterside Primary School over there, then I proceeded to Christ the King College, here in Onitsha too. If there was a university in Onitsha, I would have attended one here. You are lucky we have universities in Onitsha today.
“I want to charge you all to take your education seriously. I’m where I am today because of education. I remember when Gen. Gowon was Head of State, and he visited Onitsha, and I was one of the primary school children who went to receive him. But later in life, I and Gowon started sitting on the same table. That is what education can do. I charge you to take your education seriously.”
Abaribe, who was the keynote speaker at the event, harped on the need for young people to strike to have integrity, shun get-rich-quick syndrome and embrace hard work.
He said, “As young people, you must endeavour to steer clear of the many shiny, but temporary paths to success which have become so pervasive in our society today.
“I promise you, none of these paths will last; rather in a short while, you will be left with nothing but regrets. The paths I warn you to desist from include “Yahoo Yahoo”, other social media-influenced immorality, cultism, political sycophancy and boot-licking.
“These are not sustainable pathways. What these can offer you is temporary gratification, which suddenly fizzles into an emptiness that reveals a lack of value. Embrace excellence in character and academics. Together, they equip you to succeed in the world and make definitive impact as leaders.”
