The Kogi State Government has commenced the disbursement of N646.8 million in bursary allowances to 20,347 verified students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
The programme, tagged “Gov. Ododo Students Support Season 2,” was launched on Thursday at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Lokoja.
Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Scholarship Board, Afolabi Joseph-Raji, said the state revived its bursary scheme in 2024 after it was last paid in 2019, with a 150 per cent increase in the allowance.
Under the revised scheme, the bursary rose from N12,000 to N30,000 per student, while medical students who previously received N18,000 are now entitled to N75,000.
Joseph-Raji said the government also scrapped the N650 scratch-card payment previously required to access the application portal.
He said applications are now free, paperless, online and designed to ensure greater transparency.
For the 2024/2025 academic session, the board paid N256.4 million to 8,549 undergraduates at N30,000 each. Law School students received N60.3 million at N300,000 each, while other scholarships accounted for N261 million.
For the current 2025/2026 session, 20,347 students have been screened and verified for the bursary programme.
Joseph-Raji said payments would be made in phases, beginning with students studying at institutions within Kogi State.
The first tranche of N403 million will cover 13,157 students, while beneficiaries in more than 300 institutions outside the state will receive payment in the second tranche. Institutions listed include the University of Abuja, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Jos and Bayero University, Kano.
The Scholarship Board chairman also announced initiatives aimed at increasing student engagement, including the Governor Ododo Campus Quiz Challenge and a weekly Radio Quiz Challenge on Confluence 94.1 FM, with prizes of up to N5,000.
He added that the board had received a seven-seater utility vehicle to support campus verification and mobilisation after previously operating without an operational vehicle for the exercise.
Commissioner for Education Wemi Jones, speaking on behalf of the governor, commended the National Association of Kogi State Students for remaining peaceful during delays in the programme.
Jones said education accounts for 30 per cent of the state budget and pointed to other interventions, including payment of Common Entrance, Basic Six, BECE and WAEC fees for public-school students, NABTEB fees for technical college students and free CBT training for SS3 students.
He also encouraged students to apply for the Federal Government’s NELFUND loan scheme.
Outgoing President of NAKOSS, Sunday Adeola Simon, thanked the governor for the intervention and said student leaders chose dialogue rather than confrontation during the delays surrounding the programme.
Simon appealed for students studying outside Kogi and those attending the Nigeria Law School to be included in the disbursement so that no beneficiary would be left out.
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