Rep. Yusuf Gagdi (APC-Plateau) has refunded the registration fee of N5,500 to each candidate in his constituency who registered for the 2021 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations.

No fewer than 2,000 candidates from Pankshin, Kanke, and Kanam, local governments of the state benefitted from the refund.

Gagdi, representing Pankshin, Kanke, and Kanam Federal constituency of the state, presented the cash on Friday in Pankshin.

The lawmaker, represented by Mr. Kak’mena Goteng, the Chairman of Pankshin Local Government Area, said that the gesture was aimed at encouraging youths to go to school.

He said that the refund would be for all candidates in the constituency, devoid of ethnic, religious, or political differences.

He explained that he had earmarked N20 million for the exercise and promised more funds if the available one was exhausted.

“What we are doing today is in fulfillment of our campaign promises to the people of Pankshin, Kanke, and Kanam.

“We promised to touch all facets of the society; we promised good governance and education is key towards having developed society.

“My constituency is one of the rural in this country and majority of my people are poor, and so, doing this will help support parents who suffered to get this money for their children to register for this examination.

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“Education is the bedrock of every society and what we are doing today is to support these young ones to go to school so as to be useful to themselves, families, and society in general.

“This refund is not just for my party members, but for all candidates in my constituency who registered for the 2021 JAMB. I’m a representative of the people and this is the time for governance, not politics,” he said.

Gagdi urged the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors of the constituency by the time they gained admission into higher institutions, advising them to shun cultist activities, thuggery, examination malpractices, drug abuse, and other social vices.

Speaking at the event, Nde John Gobak, the Chairman of the Refund Planning Committee, said that beneficiaries must present their evidence of registration to be refunded.

Gobak, a one-time Secretary to Plateau State Government, thanked the lawmaker for the initiative and urged him to do more for the people.

“During the presentation of his mid-term report, Gagdi promised to pay the JAMB registration fee of candidates in this constituency. We are here today to fulfill that promise and we are indeed grateful to him.

“This gesture is a way of instilling leadership qualities in the young ones. Who knows what they will become tomorrow?

“So, our young and energetic representative is a talk-and-do legislator; he is doing well and we will continue to support him to succeed in touching the lives of our people positively,” he said.

On his part, Mr. Dauda Waptu, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kanke Local Government Area, commended the lawmaker for his efforts at developing the constituency.

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He said promoting education among young people in the constituency would enable the beneficiaries to come back fit to man all sectors of the economy in the near future.

A beneficiary, Miss Joy Fwenshiwe, thanked the lawmaker for the gesture and promised to take her studies seriously when she finally gain admission to a higher institution.