2027: Deliver 10m Votes For Tinubu, Alausa tells NANS

ABUJA — The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has urged the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and other student leaders to mobilise 10 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Alausa said continuity of the Tinubu administration was critical to sustaining ongoing reforms in student financing, skills development, infrastructure and access to tertiary education.

The minister made the call in Abuja when the leadership of NANS and other student associations paid him a familiarisation visit.

He said Nigerian students had a direct stake in the 2027 election, arguing that policies being implemented by the administration would shape their education, skills, employment prospects and future opportunities.

According to Alausa, Tinubu has demonstrated commitment to addressing both immediate challenges and longstanding gaps in the education sector.

He said the administration’s interventions had gone beyond conventional investment in classrooms to include student financing, accommodation, technical and vocational education, entrepreneurship, campus infrastructure and measures to protect the academic calendar.

Alausa identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, as one of the administration’s major interventions, saying about N200 billion had been committed to the scheme, with more than 1.6 million students benefiting.

He said recent directives by the President on additional funding sources would further strengthen NELFUND, assuring students that the monthly upkeep allowance would continue.

The minister also highlighted investments in student accommodation, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, TVET, campus transportation, renewable energy and entrepreneurship.

He said more than N200 billion had been committed to expanding student accommodation, while over N150 billion had been invested in TVET infrastructure.

Alausa added that the Student Venture Capital Grant was helping students turn innovative ideas into businesses and become job creators, disclosing that the government was considering increasing the grant ceiling in the next phase.

He said the government was also addressing challenges affecting students’ daily academic experiences.

According to him, renewable energy projects are 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 Tinubu’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, Ministry of Education and the organised student community.

Asefon 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 NANS President, Comrade Babatunde Afeez Akinteye, commended Tinubu and Alausa for interventions including NELFUND and TVET.

Akinteye said the student loan scheme had made a significant difference in the lives of beneficiaries, noting that the monthly upkeep allowance had become an important source of relief for students facing financial difficulties.

He urged the government to sustain the initiative.

The NANS president, however, 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.

Akinteye said student leaders were ready to collaborate with the government to address the challenges.

Responding, Alausa said the concerns raised by the students were receiving the attention of the ministry.

He assured them that issues capable of disrupting the education and future of Nigerian students would not be treated with levity.

The minister 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.

He said the review was aimed at ensuring that students were not admitted into unapproved programmes or left stranded after years of study.

Alausa assured the students that the ministry would maintain an open channel of engagement with their leadership and continue to address issues affecting their education and welfare.

He said the government would remain focused on advancing Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in education through reforms, investment and opportunities designed to enable young Nigerians to acquire quality education, develop relevant skills, create jobs and contribute to national development.