Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has approved the release of N900 million for the payment of tuition fees and upkeep allowances to students from the state studying in local and foreign tertiary institutions.
The N900 million scholarship will cover the 2015, 2016 and 2017 academic years, respectively.
The approval followed the submission of the report of the committee on the verification of students entitled to scholarships to the governor on Monday last week.
The committee, led by Ambassador Shehu Wurno, had said that a total number of 14,532 students were verified and certified to benefit from government scholarship in the state.
Addressing reporters in his office on Tuesday, the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Sahabi Isa Gada, said that the completion of the committee’s report had standardised the list of students under government scholarship and only verified students would benefit from the payment.
He said already, the ministry had set up a contact team that would ensure smooth payment of the students and in record time.
Gada added, “From the submission of the committee, the sum of N688,174,579, being registration and upkeep allowance, is being owed  for the current 2016/2017 academic session. The balance of the funds released is for the payment of backlog of entitlements of our foreign students.
“The welfare of our students is a matter of priority to government. We’ve contacted their representatives and their schools and payment will start after necessary procedure is completed.
“So for this payment, both local and foreign students will benefit. In fact, we are paying backlog of entitlements to foreign students to ensure all of them are up to date in their obligations to their schools.”
