By Uchenna Okolie (Borno State Correspondent)
The group under the umbrella of the Federal Government College Maiduguri Old Students Association ( FEGOCOMOSA ) has commended the Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, for enrolling 150 educationally disadvantaged children from the northern part of the state to Federal Government College Maiduguri.
The group added that Zulum's gesture is coming at a time when the Boko Haram terrorists have displaced many school-aged children out of school particularly, in northern Borno that has been educationally disadvantaged coupled with the resurgence of attacks in the local government areas.
Speaking after a tour of the Federal Government College Maiduguri on Friday, the National President of FEGOCOMOSA, Mr. Suleiman Mohammed Dikwa, said the Old Students Association will partner with Governor Zulum to ensure that facilities in the school are expanded to accommodate more students that would be admitted in the school through such gesture from the Governor.
Dikwa appealed to Governor Zulum to see how facilities like classrooms, hostel accommodation, and human resources can be increased to meet up with the increasing population of the school.
He said the Association in a bid to contribute its quota to the school, embarked on various projects like planting of 1000 economic trees to improve the nutritional feed of the students and as well generate income to supplement the available feeding plan of the students.
He said the Association equally developed a financial plan where N10 billion is to be raised in ten years as investment fund Cooperative Safety Net for members, adding that it has reached an agreement with Sterling Bank on how members could secure financial loans ranging from N250,000 to N50 million.
"We have an investment initiative where old students can raise funds to buy property together and sell to share the profit. The Association is into partnership with Tiger Foods limited to train and absorb members as distributors," Dikwa said.
He appealed to Development Agencies such as USAID, GTZ, DFID, and others to come to the aid of Federal Government College Maiduguri in the area of human capacity building and information technology development.
Dikwa said as peace returns to Maiduguri, the Association is planning for the first inter-house sports to be organized in the school after 11 years. NNL.
