Igbawase Ukumba in lafia 

The Nasarawa State Government has disbursed more than N592 million as bursary allowances to 16,756 indigent students studying at various tertiary institutions in the country.

Speaking during the disbursement of the bursary allowances in Akwanga, headquarters of Akwanga Local Government Area of the state, Governor Abdullahi Sule said the gesture was part of his commitment to investing in the future and transforming the education sector.

Sule explained that education is the topmost priority of his administration, which is why it has 36 per cent allocation in the 2025 budget of the state.

The governor stressed that his administration has restored international scholarship in the state and is currently sponsoring 155 students studying different courses in various countries of the world.

He further disclosed that the state government is sponsoring nursing students, as well as others in different universities across the country to build future manpower for the state.

“We paid 2025 National Examination Council (NECO) registration for over 24,000 secondary students in public schools to ease the burden on their parents,” Sule added.

Sule further directed the board to commence the process for the disbursement of the allowances for the 2025/2026 academic session.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Scholarship Board, Hajia Sa’Adatu Yahaya, expressed gratitude to the governor for the gesture.

The executive secretary explained that 25,000 students had applied for the bursary allowance at the portal, but the board shortlisted 17,762 beneficiaries after an online screening exercise.

She further said that the board had decided to conduct physical verification of the beneficiaries after the state government approved the payment for the number of beneficiaries screened through the online process.

“After the physical verification, the board discovered that the 2006 candidates are no longer students and we’re thereby delisted from the beneficiaries, bringing the number to 16,756.

“We therefore refunded N122,108 to the state government for the ineligible students,” she added.

Yahaya further explained that the candidates benefited from N30,000 to N90,000 as bursary allowances from the government, depending on the course of study.

She therefore promised that the board under her leadership would continue to maintain transparency and accountability in the discharge of their responsibility in line with the mandate given to them by the governor.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the National President, Nasarawa State Students Association (NASSA), Ovey Abimiku, appreciated the governor for the gesture and promised to use it to pursue their educational career.

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