Alex Otti Foundation shortlists 58 for scholarship

The Alex Otti Foundation concluded a selection process from which indigent undergraduate students that are from or resident in Abia state will benefit from the foundation’s Tertiary Education Scholarship.

The scholarship scheme targets indigent students who have outstanding academic record in public tertiary schools and offers them an annual one-off funding of N150,000 for their tuition until they graduate from their different disciplines.

Addressing newsmen in Umuahia, the CEO of the Alex Otti Foundation Chinedu Ekeke said the selection process of the second annual scholarship program has Chude Jideonwo a media expert as the chair of the final selection committee, with Blossom Ozurumba, an innovation advisor and strategic partnership expert; and Jude Egba, a senior editor with Pulse as members.

Ekeke revealed that the selection of beneficiaries of the scholarship after they have applied involves a rigorous process with international consultants going through the applications and shortlisting candidates for the next and last stage which is the oral interview. He also said there are mechanisms put in place to authenticate the claims of the applicants.

Ekeke revealed that this year, 58 students out of about 700 applicants from different public tertiary institutions across the country were shortlisted for the last stage and all those that meet the Foundation’s cut-off mark will be given the scholarship.

The beneficiary of this year’s scholarship according to the Foundation’s CEO will join the existing pool of beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme.

The selection process is a peer review process that ensures merit and fairness as the organization is seeking to expand opportunities to potential leaders who are struggling to fund their education hoping they will also contribute to the society in the long run.

The candidate are required to have a Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA) of at least 3.5 for universities or 2.5 for polytechnics/monotechnics before they apply and must maintain the same CGPA to retian the scholarship till they graduate.

Ekeke also told newsmen that the scholarship is one of the programmes of the foundation, a non-profit organisation that extends opportunities to indigent members of the society in education and entrepreneurship.

The foundation was founded by Dr Alex Otti, a financial expert and former bank chief executive as a way of giving opportunities to the most deserving who may be struggling as entrepreneurs, skillworkers or students.