Why I Rewarded Student For Returning Phone – Ex-Rivers Commissioner
2 min read
Edith CHUKU
Former Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Emma Okah has said that public appreciation is the motivation behind the award of a two-year university scholarship, he awarded Philemon Igbokwe recently in Port Harcourt.
The commissioner made this known to TNN shortly after he formerly announced the award on Monday, April 19, 2021, during the formal presentation of the boy to the staff and students of his school. He said it was to encourage people who do well, and to inspire others to live a life of honesty for a better Nigeria.
Philemon, a student of Federal Government College, Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt has been on the internet lately, as people pour encomium on him, for returning a phone forgotten in the washroom by a wedding guest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Okah said in an exclusive interview that the motivation arose from public appreciation of the simple act of returning the forgotten phone.
In his response, Philemon said he was grateful and humbled by the public appreciation of his returning the forgotten phone which he saw in the toilet.
According to him, “I didn’t have a phone but there is no way I would have taken another person’s thing. That is the training my mother gave to us at home.” while thanking those who gave him gifts since the incident happened, he promised to uphold the ideals of good conduct and be a good ambassador of the school.
TNN gathered that in addition to the earlier cash gifts given to the boy, Engr. Bola Balogun has also donated an android phone to him in appreciation for his rare behaviour, while, the National Welfare Officer of the old students’ association of the school, Mr Orevaogene Pius, announced a cash donation, adding that the National Association has awarded scholarship to the boy.
