Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi says only his state in Nigeria offers free education and scholarships to students studying within and outside the country.
Idris disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Students’ Matters, Mr Sunday Dare, in Government House, Birnin Kebbi on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SSA was accompanied by Mr. Olusola Oladejo, National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
NAN also reports that the students were in Kebbi to inaugurate the newly elected executives of the Kebbi National Students’ Association.
The Governor informed the visitors that he had paid approximately N2.7 billion to settle the tuition fees of both students studying within Nigeria and those studying abroad.
He said, “It might interest you to note that it is only Kebbi that offers total free education in Nigeria.
“We pay tuition fees for all our students up to secondary and tertiary institutions.
“Recently, I paid N2.7 billion tuition fees for both students studying across tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria.”
According to Idris, his administration offers total scholarships to the students, adding, “We are doing this to remove the stress and burden from the parents.
“Some parents may have more than three children in tertiary institutions.
*If the money is too much, some parents might not be able to shoulder the school fees especially in this period where many tertiary institutions have increased their tuition fees.
“That is why we deem it fit to shoulder the responsibility of free education, scholarships to all our students.”
Idris added that the funding for feeding students across boarding schools in the state had been increased from N150 million to N300 million monthly.
In line with his administration’s efforts to raise the standard of teaching and learning, the governor said the embargo on employment had been lifted, allowing about 5,000 qualified teachers to gainfully employ.
“To enhance the learning environment, my administration has rehabilitated 2,004 primary and secondary schools, while over 340 new ones were constructed,” he revealed.
Speaking on infrastructure, the governor lauded President Bola Tinubu for supporting the state in recording tremendous achievements in road construction.
He cited the construction of the 1,008-kilometer Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway as one of Tinubu’s legacy projects, expressing happiness that Kebbi would be the major beneficiary state, with approximately 280 kilometers to be constructed.
While thanking the president for revoking the 87-kilometre Koko-Zuru road contract, the governor observed that the revocation had paved the way for Kebbi to execute the project for quick delivery, and it is expected to be repaid later.
Idris also commended Tinubu for his foresight in introducing the students’ loan scheme, which had not been done before in Nigeria’s history, adding that his administration was replicating the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the state.
Earlier, the SSA to the president on students’ matters, commended the state government for implementing free education and full scholarships for students in the state.
On his part, the NANS national president applauded the state governor for the construction of four mega schools, which spread across the four Emirates of the state.
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