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Loan scheme eases tuition burden for students nationwide.
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Kogi highlighted as host of multi-billion naira investments and projects.
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FG insists reforms and subsidy removal will drive long-term growth.
The Federal Government has disclosed that no fewer than 396,000 students have so far benefitted from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) tuition scheme, designed to provide financial assistance to learners under the Bola Tinubu administration.
The disclosure was made in Lokoja during a town hall meeting convened to highlight two years of the administration’s reforms and their impact, particularly in Kogi State.
Guest speaker Lawal Shuaibu, representing the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the scheme was targeted at securing the future of students by ensuring they complete their education without financial disruption.
The event also emphasised other federal investments in Kogi, including the clearing of 7,800 hectares of land for farming, the construction of five mini-LNG plants worth over $500 million in Ajaokuta, and plans to train 25,000 youths in mineral exploration. Officials explained that such initiatives would stimulate industrial growth, generate employment, and diversify Nigeria’s economy.
Speakers further emphasised that Tinubu’s administration had taken bold steps to stabilise the economy, citing the removal of fuel subsidy and improvements in agricultural mechanisation. They highlighted the commissioning of 2,000 tractors and the cultivation of over 55,000 hectares nationwide as part of the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme.
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The Kogi State Government echoed its support, with Governor Ahmed Ododo’s team outlining efforts to align state policies with federal reforms, including fertiliser distribution to 30,000 farmers, a tractor refurbishment initiative that saved N20 billion, and the allocation of land for affordable housing under the Renewed Hope Housing Project.
Traditional leaders present commended the NELFUND initiative and urged that such benefits be extended further to grassroots communities, while stressing the importance of sustaining reforms to ease economic burdens on ordinary Nigerians.
