By Stephen Adeleye
Gov. Ahmed Ododo of Kogi has commenced the disbursement of N646.8 million bursary allowance to 20,347 verified students of tertiary institutions across the country.
The disbursement was launched on Thursday at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Lokoja, during an event tagged, “Gov. Ododo Students Support Season 2”.
The Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Scholarship Board (KSSB), Mr Afolabi Joseph-Raji, said the administration revived the bursary scheme, which was last paid in 2019, and recommenced it in 2024.
Joseph-Raji said the allowance was increased from N12,000 to N30,000 per undergraduate, while medical students would receive N75,000 each, compared with the previous N18,000.
He said the governor also abolished the payment of N650 scratch-card fees previously required for students to access the bursary portal.
According to him, the application process is now free, paperless, online and transparent.
Joseph-Raji said that in the 2024/2025 academic session, the board disbursed N256.4 million to 8,549 undergraduates at N30,000 each and N60.3 million to Law School students at N300,000 each.
He added that other scholarship interventions during the period amounted to N261 million.
The chairman said that 20,347 students had been screened and verified for the 2025/2026 bursary, with the total commitment standing at N646.8 million.
He explained that the payment would be made in phases, beginning with students studying in tertiary institutions within Kogi State.
“Students in more than 300 institutions outside the state will be paid in the second tranche,” he said.
Joseph-Raji said the first tranche of N403 million would cover 13,157 students studying in tertiary institutions within the state.
Speaking on behalf of the governor, Mr Wemi Jones, Commissioner for Education, commended the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS) for its patience and peaceful conduct during the delay in the disbursement.
Jones said education received the highest allocation in the state budget, at 30 per cent, describing it as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the sector.
He also acknowledged former Gov. Yahaya Bello’s role in establishing the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, and Kogi State University, Kabba.
The commissioner described the increase in beneficiaries from about 8,000 in Season 1 to more than 20,000 in Season 2 as a significant expansion of the programme.
He urged students to take advantage of the Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme, noting that only a few students at the event indicated that they were benefiting from it.
Responding on behalf of the students, the outgoing President of NAKOSS, Mr Sunday Simon, thanked the governor for the intervention, saying it demonstrated the government’s commitment to students’ welfare.
Simon appealed to the state government to ensure that Kogi students studying outside the state, including those at the Nigerian Law School, were captured in the disbursement.
He said this would ensure that no eligible student was left behind in the bursary programme. (NAN)
Edited by Isaac Ukpoju
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