Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has paid the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination fees for 148 inmates across correctional centres in Anambra State who sat for the November/December 2025 NECO GCE.

Obi also donated N15 million to the College of Nursing Sciences, Borromeo, Onitsha, to support infrastructure upgrades and improved healthcare training.

The Anambra State Coordinator of National Examinations Council (NECO), Mrs. Emilia Njoku, received Obi during an unscheduled visit to the council’s Awka office, expressing surprise at his appearance.

Explaining his intervention, Obi said the inmates had approached him through a delegate after being informed that they risked exclusion from the examinations due to unpaid fees.

“When the delegation approached me, I felt bad that they were going to be stopped from continuing the examination. I immediately assured them I would pay,” Obi said.

He disclosed that shortly after making the commitment, some of his friends in the diaspora also contributed funds and pledged to support the initiative in subsequent years.

According to Obi, representatives of inmates from correctional centres in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Aguata (Ekwulobia) had visited his home in Onitsha to explain their predicament. Although NECO approved their participation, the council required a letter of undertaking from a guarantor before payment could be processed.

“I provided the required undertaking immediately and later came to submit the cheque formally,” he explained.

Obi presented a cheque of N4,741,400 to cover the examination fees for the 148 inmates—50 from Awka, 36 from Onitsha, 25 from Nnewi and 37 from Aguata. The payment included N30,050 per candidate and an additional N2,000 per inmate for logistics.

Commending the gesture, Mrs. Njoku described education as a critical necessity, stressing that inmates also deserve opportunities for personal development and rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, Obi’s N15 million donation to the College of Nursing Sciences, Onitsha, he said, was part of his routine support for medical institutions aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery and improving training standards. (AriseNews TV)

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