Indigenous youths who are yet to acquire tertiary education or commercial skills set have been encouraged to put their acts together as the educational advancement of the Jack-Wilson Pepple Chieftaincy House and Bonny Kingdom in general will remain the core focus of the Educational Support Fund recently instated by the House.

This position was made public by the Chairman of the Jack-Wilson Pepple House Education Support Fund Committee, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple at the 2021 Calendar Launch Ceremony hosted by the House on Saturday, January 30, 2021 in Bonny.

She hinged her position on the fact that, the best crop of technocrats and men of integrity were meticulously chosen to manage the fund, assuring that everyone will be proud of the achievements of the committee in terms of managing the funds for the educational advancement of the House.  

“The money you have all given to us will be used judiciously and you will be proud of what this committee will do with your money because I know we will be prudent in spending and we will give when we need to give.”

“To the members of the committee that the house has set up, when I look at you, I see men of integrity, men of capacity, and I feel humbled to be part of the committee. I want to thank you for accepting to work for the benefit of this house.”

The Jack-Wilson Pepple Education Support Fund Committee was inaugurated by the Chief and Head of the House, Se-Alabo Haniel Jack-Wilson Pepple on Friday, January 29, 2021.

Se-Alabo Jack-Wilson Pepple mandated the committee to manage the funds, receive, process and decide on requests for education support ranging from school fees, training fee, to examination fees payment, post graduate schooling grants, sourcing opportunities for educational advancement, and advising the leadership of the House on issues pertaining to Education.

Aside the Chairman, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple, the committee has Rev. Canon Peter Blu-Attoni and Herbert Pepple as Vice Chairman and Secretary respectively, while Fred Pepple, Blessing Ezekiel-Hart, Boma Okaka and Boma Waribor are to serve as members.

The Chairman of the Committee, who is also an ex-banker called on deserving youths of the House to put themselves together and take advantage of the opportunity that the fund presents to develop themselves, as those without education or skill advantage in the coming years may be shut out from the ever demanding world of work.

The choice of Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple as Chairman of the committee did not come as surprise to many given that as a seasoned educationist and proprietress of a highbrow educational institution in Lagos, she has had a sterling track record of managing educational systems over the years.

This is aside investing hugely, through her Helen Pepple Foundation, in the sponsorship of several children and women who today owe their academic prowess and economic empowerment to her legendary magnanimity.

Pepple, who is as well the Leader of Bonny Kingdom Women Forum, harped on the need for the people of the area, especially the youths, to focus on learning hands-on skills that could help them become self-reliant, pointing out that the world of work today demands high level of versatility and competence in diverse areas.

She emphasised the need for education to be holistic and dynamic, noting that it was important that children are trained to become employable upon graduation from school, adding that “what is important is whether you are for school, or handwork, at the end of the day we should harmonise both categories and support your growth considerably.”

Prior to the inauguration of the committee and calendar launch, Se-Alabo Jack-Wilson Pepple had inaugurated the Jack-Wilson Pepple Graduate Forum, which is expected to work in synchrony with the committee to ensure the education support fund benefits the House maximally.