NELFUND congratulates Dangote Foundation on N100bn annual scholarship initiative

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has congratulated the Aliko Dangote Foundation on the launch of its N100 billion annual education scholarship initiative, a decade-long programme expected to support more than 1.3 million Nigerian students across secondary and tertiary institutions.

The commendation was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Strategic Communications, NELFUND, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, and made available on Saturday.

NELFUND described the initiative, unveiled in Lagos in the presence of Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu, as a strong demonstration of private-sector partnership aligned with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda on education.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, praised the Aliko Dangote Foundation for its visionary leadership and its alignment with the Federal Government’s reform priorities in the education sector.

He said the N100 billion annual scholarship scheme complements the President’s agenda of removing financial barriers to education and empowering young Nigerians to achieve their full potential.

Mr Sawyerr noted that the programme’s focus on public secondary schools, public tertiary institutions, and a strong science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) component would significantly strengthen national education financing efforts.

He also reaffirmed NELFUND’s readiness to collaborate with the Dangote Foundation and other stakeholders to ensure transparency, efficiency, and wide-reaching impact of the initiative.

NELFUND expressed confidence that the scholarship programme would leave a lasting and transformative legacy on Nigeria’s education landscape through sustained public-private sector collaboration.