By Jude Atupulazi & Michael Nnebife
The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Sir Dr Victor Umeh, has paid 64 million Naira university school fees, for over 326 under-privileged brilliant students of Anambra State origin for the 2025/2026 Academic Session.
The kind gesture came on Tuesday, January 13, as the major activity to mark Senator Umeh’s 2026 Education Empowerment of Youth undergraduates and postgraduates through Victor Umeh Education Foundation.
Addressing the beneficiaries and the dignitaries that graced the event, which took place at CWO Cana House Complex, Awka, Senator Umeh went down memory lane from the origin to the essence of the programme, which he described as his constituency project, for holistic development of Anambra Central Senatorial Zone and Anambra State at large.
‘I thank God for today, as we gather here to do our normal thing of paying school fees for students we have identified as those who need help to further their education.
‘I started this in 1999, and in the year 2007, we formalized it as Victor Umeh Education Foundation.
‘Since then, we have been training people, producing so many graduates of different disciplines beyond Anambra Central Senatorial District and Anambra State to Imo, Enugu and Ebony States.
‘We are doing this with happiness just to empower the underprivileged but brilliant youths to get university education.
‘When I went to the Senate in 2018, I started what I called Anambra Central Senatorial District Scholarship Scheme with 70 students selected from seven local government areas in the district, 10 each.
‘We added six students brought to us out of special needs, making the total number 76.
‘By the year 2023, all of them had graduated from universities,’ the Senator said.
Noting that he continued his regular scholarship programme unabated, Umeh further explained, ‘In 2024, I decided to increase it from that 76 that had graduated, to 223.
‘This year, we increased it again to 326, among other people,’ Senator Umeh said, and explained how the beneficiaries were selected.
‘There are 58 communities in Anambra Central Senatorial District. Through the Presidents General of the communities, we take two persons per community.
‘This gave us 116 persons before I started taking people from various stakeholders and those that came across me who I found to deserve such help.
‘I reached out to some other major stakeholders like Archbishop Alexander Ibezim of the Anglican Communion. He sent me six names from the Millennium College of Nursing.
‘I also reached out to Archbishop Valerian Okeke of Onitsha Catholic Archdiocese. He sent me 10 names.
‘I equally asked Bishop Owen Nwokolo of the Anglican Diocese on the Niger to send six names. This is how we built the list to 326 today,’ Senator Umeh said.
‘In 2024, we paid 37 million Naira; today we are going to pay 64 million Naira for our beneficiaries as our constituency project,’ the Senator said.
He further explained that he made scholarship his constituency project and empowerment programme for the youth because of his belief that when young people were given education the nation would be empowered.
‘Education is the light that illuminates darkness. With it, people are liberated from the shackles of both poverty and ignorance.
‘When you give education to the youth, you are building a better society because an educated mind is a civilized mind. An educated mind cannot take to a crime.
‘So, we will continue to do things that are noble and good,’ Senator Umeh assured, boasting of having the greatest number of classroom blocks built anywhere compared with any other person or persons investing in the education sector.
‘In many communities here in Anambra Central, I have built classroom blocks in the past years. Currently, many are still under construction across the Senatorial District.
‘These are because I place a great premium on education for our comprehensive development.
‘It is because of that that every time we have an opportunity to get in the budget what is called a zonal intervention project for the National Assembly Members, I dedicate a greater chunk of my own to youth and education empowerment of Anambra Central,’ the Senator said.
Umeh, who noted that his foundation had produced over 2,000 graduates across many disciplines since inception in 1999, expressed satisfaction with the performances of the past beneficiaries, urging the current ones to take their studies seriously to continue to make the foundation proud.
Responding, Chinecheram Okafor, Nkiruka Igwenagu, and Angela Nwafor, on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked Senator Umeh, whom they described as a destiny lifter, for the kind gesture, praying God to reward and bless him and his family.
Earlier in their welcome speeches filled with songs of praise to God, the Coordinator, and the Secretary, Victor Umeh Education Foundation, Rev Fr Peter Val Uzoezie, and Chief Emeka Anaeto, respectively, appreciated God for what they called the gift of Senator Umeh to humanity.
They traced the origin of the programme to 1999 with children whose parents were faced with financial difficulty, trooping into Senator Umeh’s house for financial help.
According to them, this gave birth to Victor Umeh Education Foundation, which, they said, began to grow like a mustard seed with 10 beneficiaries in 1999, with barely more than a million Naira, to 326 beneficiaries this year with 64 million Naira.
‘Over the years, we have successfully trained teachers, Reverend Fathers, barristers, doctors, pharmacists, among others,’ they said, and expressed gratitude to Senator Umeh and his wife for dedicating their lives and resources to training of the underprivileged for the development of society.
Rev Fr Uzoezie and Chief Anaeto advised the beneficiaries to reciprocate the kind gesture by taking their studies seriously.
They appreciated the dignitaries, who included the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General Elections, Mr Peter Obi; the leaderships of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council; the Anambra State Town Union Council – men’s, women’s and youth wings – of the seven local government areas in Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, among others, for gracing the event with their presence.
In his remarks, Mr Obi described the programme as awesome and phenomenal, and thanked Senator Umeh for choosing to develop society through education of the Anambra youth.
Obi also advised the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity, which he described as uncommon, to better their lives.
In their separate goodwill messages, a former Diocesan Chaplain, Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria, Awka Diocese, Rev Fr Paschal Udoh; the Traditional Ruler of Nnobi, Igwe Nick Obi; the Director, Catholic Women’s Organization, Awka Diocese, Lady Sabina Ndigwe; an African Democratic Congress Chieftain in the state, Ambassador Charles Isintulu; the Public Relations Officer, Anglican Youth Fellowship, Awka Diocese, Mr Alex Dike; among others, took turns to commend Senator Umeh, describing him as a good leader that showed compassion and love to the people.
They also enjoined the beneficiaries to take their studies seriously and make best use of the opportunity given to them.
Symbolic presentation of pictorial cheque of 64 million Naira climaxed the event.