The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has urged the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and other student leaders to mobilise 10 million student votes for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Alausa said continuity of the administration’s education reforms is critical to sustaining gains recorded in student financing, skills development, infrastructure and access to tertiary education.
The minister stated this in Abuja when the leadership of NANS and other student associations paid him a familiarisation visit on Thursday.
He said Nigerian students had a direct stake in the 2027 election because policies being implemented by the administration would shape their education, skills, employment prospects and opportunities for the future.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to Minister on Media and Communications, Mr. Ikharo Attah, the Minister said President Tinubu had demonstrated a deep commitment to young Nigerians through policies addressing both immediate challenges and longstanding gaps in the education sector.
Alausa said the President’s approach had gone beyond conventional investment in classrooms to encompass student financing, accommodation, technical and vocational education and training, TVET, entrepreneurship, campus infrastructure and measures to protect the academic calendar.
He identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, as one of the administration’s landmark interventions, saying about N200 billion had been committed to the scheme, with more than 1.6 million students benefiting.
The Minister said the President’s recent directives on additional funding sources would further strengthen the sustainability of NELFUND, assuring students that the monthly upkeep allowance would continue.
He also highlighted investments in student accommodation, TVET, campus transportation, renewable energy and entrepreneurship.
According to him, more than N200 billion had been committed to expanding student accommodation, while over N150 billion had gone into TVET infrastructure.
He added that the Student Venture Capital Grant was helping students transform innovative ideas into businesses and become job creators, with the government considering an increase in the grant ceiling in the next phase.
Alausa said the government was equally addressing the everyday conditions that affect students’ ability to learn and complete their programmes.
He disclosed that renewable energy projects were being expanded across federal tertiary institutions to provide reliable power for laboratories, workshops, libraries and hostels, while additional campus tricycles would be deployed to ease transportation challenges.
He added that sustained engagement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, was helping to maintain academic stability and advance the President’s commitment that a four-year programme should take four years.
Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Comrade Sunday Asefon, said the visit was aimed at strengthening direct engagement between the Presidency, the Ministry of Education and the organised student community.
He commended NANS and other student leaders for their advocacy on student welfare, saying their partnership with government was essential to identifying challenges and finding practical solutions across tertiary institutions.
The President of NANS, Comrade Babatunde Afeez Akinteye, commended President Tinubu and the Minister for interventions including NELFUND and TVET, saying the student loan scheme had made a significant difference in the lives of beneficiaries.
He noted that the monthly upkeep support had become an important source of relief for students facing financial difficulties and urged the government to sustain the initiative.
Akinteye also raised concerns over Federal Scholarship Awards, illegal admissions and accreditation challenges affecting students in some institutions.
He called for stronger regulatory action to protect students from institutions that admit them into programmes without the required approval or capacity, stressing that student leaders were ready to collaborate with government to address the problems.
Responding, Alausa said the concerns raised by the student leaders were receiving the full attention of the Ministry, assuring them that issues capable of disrupting the education and future of Nigerian students would not be treated with levity.
He said the Ministry was working to resolve funding challenges affecting the Federal Scholarship Awards, strengthen admission processes and undertake a comprehensive review of the accreditation system to ensure that students were not admitted into unapproved programmes or left stranded after years of study.
He added that relevant agencies and stakeholders were being mobilised to implement the necessary corrective measures without unnecessary delay.
Alausa assured the students that the Ministry would maintain an open channel of engagement with their leadership and continue to act on issues affecting their education and welfare.
He said the government would remain focused on advancing President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in education, stressing that the President’s promise of a better future for Nigerian youths would be sustained through reforms, investment and opportunities that enable young Nigerians to acquire quality education, develop relevant skills, create jobs and contribute meaningfully to national development.
