True to his promise of securing assistance for brilliant but needy students in his constituency, the member of parliament for Obuasi Hon Edward Michael Ennin has handed over scholarship packages to about fifty beneficiaries. The scholarship package equivalent of government approved rate of feeding a student in an SSS boarding school is to see the beneficiaries through their senior secondary education. The beneficiaries attend schools in the Ashanti, Central and Western regions.
Hon. Ennin's effort to secure the scholarship assistance attracted serious controversy some months ago following a Chronicle report that the M.P had lied to his constituents on the subject matter. In the said report, the Chron! icle alleged that the M.P had lied on a local radio station that he had secured scholarships for some students, and has subsequently distributed fake application forms. The M.P ,however, explained that he had at the time secured application forms for onward completion by applicants. In the ensuing debate the member of parliament accused a former Chronicle columnist and a losing contender in the N.P.P parliamentary primaries, Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng of having a hand in the publication intended to render him unpopular.
The controversy was however laid to rest, when the scholarship secretariat came out on a local FM station in Obuasi Shaft radio to condemn the report, saying the writer failed to contact the secretariat for it's official version. The secretariat subsequently announced that all applications submitted by the M.P has been approved and the beneficiaries offered the scheme.
The M.P.'s basis of accusation was that prior to the publication, K. A Kwarteng had called him on the same subject and asked whether the application forms distributed were not fake. Some of the beneficiary parents told ?The Servant? in an interview that the electorates in Obuasi are now convinced that the M.P has good plans for them and remains committed to the growth of education. They appealed to detractors in the constituency to acknowledge the effort of the M.P and support him to do more. ?We have all seen that the forms were not fake after all? they stressed.