Majority Leader Emeritus of Imo State House of Assembly, Hon Lugard Osuji, Esq., has unveiled two major humanitarian initiatives for women and young people of Umuihugba-Umuodu community in Owerri Municipal, deepening his longstanding interventions in the community and expanding the support he has provided since his years in the state legislature.
Osuji announced the initiatives while addressing the community’s women during their 2026 August meeting, unveiling the Mrs Rhoda Osuji Interest-Free Loan Fund for Umuihugba-Umuodu Women and the Prof. G.O.C. Ihebom Education Support Fund for undergraduate law students from the community.
The programmes are aimed at providing structured economic support for women and educational assistance for young people pursuing legal studies.
According to Osuji, the interest-free loan fund is named after his mother, Mrs Rhoda Osuji, and is intended to give women access to revolving financial assistance without the burden of interest, enabling them to expand their businesses, strengthen existing economic activities and improve their household welfare. He said a management team had been constituted to administer and supervise the fund, ensure proper accountability and make certain that its benefits reach the intended beneficiaries across the community.
The former lawmaker said the initiative was a deliberate progression from the assistance he had previously provided to women, recalling that he donated N500,000 to women in the community in the past. He explained that while the earlier intervention provided immediate assistance, the new arrangement was designed to create a more sustainable mechanism through which women could access financial support, utilise it for productive activities and make the facility available to other beneficiaries.
Osuji also announced the establishment of the Prof. G.O.C. Ihebom Education Support Fund, saying the programme would provide N100,000 annually as non-refundable assistance to undergraduate law students from Umuihugba-Umuodu. He said the support would apply to eligible students studying law in any university or other tertiary institution in Nigeria, thereby ensuring that beneficiaries are not restricted by the institution they attend.
According to Osuji, the education fund is intended to reduce the financial pressures confronting young people pursuing legal education and encourage members of the community to acquire professional qualifications that could enable them to contribute meaningfully to society. He said the decision to name the fund after Prof. G.O.C. Ihebom was deliberate, reflecting the importance he attaches to education, scholarship and the preservation of the legacy of distinguished members of the community.
The former Majority Leader said the two initiatives represented his continuing commitment to community service beyond political office, stressing that humanitarian intervention should go beyond occasional donations to create structures that can produce lasting benefits. He said the assistance would empower women economically, while the education fund would invest directly in the future of young people from Umuihugba-Umuodu.
Several women who attended the August meeting hailed Osuji for the initiatives, describing the interest-free loan scheme as a timely intervention that could help women expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods. They also welcomed the education support fund, saying the annual assistance would provide meaningful relief to families supporting students through the demanding course of legal education.
