News Investigators/ The Nasarawa State Government has disbursed N592 million as bursary to 16,756 students studying at various tertiary institutions in the country.
The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, disclosed this during official disbursement of the bursary on Thursday at Akwanga Local Government Area.
He said that the gesture was part of his commitment to investing in the future and transforming the education sector.
Mr Sule explained that education is the topmost priority of his administration, saying it was why education had 36 per cent allocation in the 2025 budget of the state.
The governor stressed that his administration had 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 fees for more than 24, 000 secondary students in public schools to ease the burden on their parents,” he added.
Mr Sule further directed the board handling the bursary to commence the process for the disbursement of the allowances for the 2025/2026 academic session.
Earlier, Hajia Sa’Adatu Yahaya, the Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Scholarship Board, expressed gratitude to the governor for the gesture.
The Executive Secretary explained that 25,000 students had applied for the bursary on the portal, but the board shortlisted 17,762 applicants 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 2006 applicants were no longer students and we delisted them from the list of beneficiaries, bringing the number to 16,756.
“We, therefore, refunded the money meant for these ineligible students to the state government,” she added.
The board secretary further explained that the candidates benefited from N30,000 to N90,000 as bursary allowances, 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, Ovey Abimiku, National President, Nasarawa State Students Association (NASSA), appreciated the governor for the gesture and promised that the beneficiaries would use the money to pursue their educational careers.
NAN