The Speaker of the House of Representatives, representing Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State, Honorable Abbas Tajudeen is giving scholarships to 30,000 students in the North-western part of Nigeria.
Kaduna will be the most beneficial state of the scholarships; initiating aiming the program to target 7,000 students from the state. The remaining numbers will be distributed among the remaining six states ( Jigawa, Sokoto, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, and Zamfara) in the north-west geopolitical zone.
Disbursement of the N5 billion has already been approved, and the scholarships is not limited to any tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The disbursement event was held at the newly established Federal University of Education, Zaria.
Microvis Micro Finance Bank and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) are the agencies put in charge of the disbursement. In fact, the disbursement ranges from N200,000 to N800,000 depending on field of study and institution.
Unlike NELFUND that facilitates student's tuition fees and upkeep, the Abba's scholarships will facilitate tuition fees and the provision of books and stipends.
However, it worth noting that this is not the first scholarship program facilitated by Speaker Abbas. He has participated in several scholarships particularly those targeting students from Zaria Federal Constituency.
Meanwhile, there's no public explanation about how students can enroll for this present scholarship program, but from the previous ones, we can anticipate a similar application framework.
First, students are required to be an eligible indigenes of targeted states, and most enrolled in government-owned (public) tertiary institutions in Nigeria, usually pursuing degree (BSc) program or HND certification. In addition to the criteria, students will also be required to submit the following documents:
- A recent passport photo
- Admission letter either from JAMB or the tertiary institution
- Proof of indigene such as certificate of origin.
- Valid student ID card.
These documents are to be uploaded doing online application and shortlisted will be invited at TeeJay Palace, GRA, Zaria, where the original copies of the documents will be presented in-person for official verification.