The Paramount ruler of Ibadan Land, His Royal Majesty, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji (Aje Ogungunniso I) and the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), will on Saturday confer an award of recognition on former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha with an Award as ‘The Outstanding Friend of Ibadanland”.
As contained in the letter of notification sent to the Senator, the award is in recognition of the former governor’s contribution to the education of indigent children through his free education programme and establishment of tuition-free schools, Rochas Foundation Colleges in Ibadan, Oyo State.
No fewer than twenty-five thousand Nigerian children, out of which over six thousand are from Oyo and other South-West states have benefitted from Okorocha’s free education programme.
“We in Ibadan have decided to celebrate you now and outside your territory so as to show you that Ibadan has created a deserved permanent place for you in her territory. You are most deserving of this honour by virtue of your establishment of Rochas Foundation College first at Oke-Ado Ibadan and very recently at the Toll Gate, Ibadan/Lagos Expressway.
“This unique youth empowerment legacy of yours will remain indelible in our minds till eternity. It is also a testimony to the fact that you have what it takes to reposition our great country”, the statement read.
The award is said to cap the grand finale of the 2021 Ibadan Cultural Festival Celebrations at the Liberty Stadium.
Olubadan, others, traced the honor to Okorocha’s over 20 years service to humanity, by establishing the Rochas Foundation Colleges in Sokoto, Zaria, Yola, Bauchi, Kano, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Ogboko in Imo state and particularly, Ibadan.
