Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has extended educational support to 148 prison inmates in Anambra State by personally ensuring payment of their National Examinations Council (NECO) fees. Following appeals from inmates’ representatives, Obi wrote to NECO guaranteeing their fees, an intervention later supported by the Nigerian Friendship Association, USA, through its nonprofit foundation.
In an unannounced visit to NECO’s Awka office, Obi presented a cheque covering ₦4,741,400 for examination fees and logistics for inmates from Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, and Aguata correctional centres. He also visited the Awka Correctional Centre to encourage the beneficiaries, emphasising that education is a vital tool for personal transformation and reintegration into society.
Obi highlighted rehabilitation-focused education programmes he observed in California and urged Nigerian authorities to adopt similar initiatives to equip inmates with knowledge, skills, and hope. He stressed that with education, compassion, and strategic support, lives can be transformed and every Nigerian given the chance to contribute meaningfully to society.
