Delta Govt Lauds US-Based Ubulu-Uku Association for Rehabilitating Hospital …As Society Awards Scholarships to Indigent Undergraduates

Matilda Omonaiye/

The Delta State Government has commended sons and daughters of Ubulu-Uku, in the diaspora, in the Aniocha South area of the state for their support to the government’s developmental efforts in making life more meaningful to the people of the area.

The government’s commendation followed successful inauguration and connection to national grid of a 33kva transformer worth over N10 million for the smooth running of the General Hospital Ubulu-Uku and a scholarship award to indigent undergraduates from the community by the Ubulu Uku USA Association based in the United States of America (USA).

President of the Association, Mr. Mike Eboka, said his group was deeply worried at the sorry state of the hospital which had not been functioning maximally for some time hence the decision of the Ubulu Uku USA to intervene.

He lamented that referrals to the hospital has been on steady decline as the facility could hardly attend to patients due to incessant blackout, a development that made the Ubulu Uku Association in the United States of America to decide to lift the hospital with the provision of the transformer.

This, Mr. Eboka assured would lessen the burden posed to the management of the hospital and the people of the community who have had to seek medical services far away from their settlement.

Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Patrick Ekeruche thanked the Ubulu Uku USA for the gesture. He said that the state government was happy and appreciated the public spirit of the Union in collaborating with the state even when members are based outside the country.

He added that the provision of electricity transformer would help improve the services rendered by the hospital as the prevailing power outage was almost turning the health facility moribund.

Dr. Ekeruche urged other Community Associations to emulate the kind gestures of Ubulu Uku USA and explore ways of partnering with the state government to deliver services to the people as government alone could not meeting all the developmental needs of the people.

Meanwhile, the Union has also declared Miss Nancy Odinakachukwu from Akpama Quarters in Ogbe part of Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, as the receipt winner of this year’s annual Ubulu-Uku Union, USA (UUU USA) Incorporation sponsored educational scholarship award.

It announced the undergraduate as the award recipient after the final screening at the last general conference call of the association held recently

As a recipient of the Scholarship, Miss Odinakachukwu will be receiving a sum of N100, 000 every year for a 4-year duration of the undergraduate course, but not exceeding six years depending on the course of study.

Confirming Miss Odinakachukwu as the winner, the UUU USA President, Eboka said, “I am happy to announce the selection of Ms. Nancy Odinakachukwu from Akpama Quarters in Ubulu-Uku as our Scholarship Award recipient with a Major in Nursing at the University of Benin. As directed in our call, I have personally called to congratulate her.

“We will be presenting her officially with an award certificate and additional funding and eligibility requirements to ensure all criteria are being met for the scholarship award program. We are working to update this scholarship information as well as our successful electrification project at our Government General Hospital on our web site in the next few days.

“We are also planning to share this information with the various social media’s in our community. On behalf of the UUU USA project team and the entire membership of Ubulu-Uku USA, please help us congratulate Ms. Nancy Odinakachukwu as our scholarship recipient. Her phone number will be provided in due cause for those who may wish to congratulate her directly. More information will be provided during our upcoming Columbus Convention.”

Ubulu-Uku, USA, a non-profit organisation and an umbrella body of Ubulu-Uku people residing in the United States of America had in early March this year, offered scholarship awards to two deserving Ubulu-Uku students.

The association had, in an official statement jointly signed by Eboka and the Secretary General, Mr. Michael Ejogo, revealed that the Union will be sponsoring scholarship awards to two deserving students who have duly gained admissions to any Federal or State University in Nigeria for the academic period which will commence September, 2018.

The group stated: “The two scholarships awards will be for 4 years for a regular Bachelor’s degree course or 5 to 6 years for a course which requires more than 4 years to obtain a degree.”

They further pointed out that the scholarship has become necessary following the importance and great values a good University education can offer.

On the purpose of the scholarship award, the Union said the scheme was designed to assist underprivileged (low income and first generation) sons & daughters of Ubulu-Uku to continue their educational pursuits in any federal/state University in Nigeria. They however, pointed out that opportunities are only given to families, in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree.