By Our Reporter
The Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has launched a ₦1 trillion scholarship programme targeting more than 1.3 million Nigerian students over the next decade.
The initiative, the largest private-sector education support scheme in the nation’s history, which was launched on Thursday, will kickstart in 2026 with ₦100 billion disbursed annually across all 774 local governments in the country.
The programme focuses on vulnerable learners, supporting undergraduate STEM students, technical trainees, and secondary school girls through tuition aid, study materials, and essential learning supplies, and will be executed through a fully digital, merit-based system in partnership with NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC and NECO.
Speaking at the event, Dangote described the intervention as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future, stressing that financial hardship, not lack of talent, remained the major barrier keeping many young people out of school.
He, however, disclosed that 25 percent of his wealth had been committed to sustaining the Foundation’s long-term programmes.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, in his remark, described the scheme as a transformative act of nation-building, noting that it complemented government reforms in basic, tertiary and technical education.
Shettima commended Dangote for his vision in business and national development, saying the new intervention demonstrated the critical role of private-sector actors in national development.
The vice president noted that the nation's demographic growth mae urgent investment in education indispensable, and quickly warned that "a population becomes a liability only when it is uneducated."
"Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through his far-reaching philanthropy, has set in motion the single largest private-sector education support intervention in the history of this country.
"What he has done here today is a lesson to each of us. This is nation-building in its purest form," he said.
Shettima highlighted ongoing reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), strengthened basic education infrastructure through UBEC, expanded TETFUND interventions and accelerated technical and vocational programmes, saying all were aimed to improve Nigeria’s poor Human Capital Index ranking and prepare young people for a skills-driven global economy.
He, therefore, called for stronger collaboration between government, the private sector and development partners to address persistent gaps in the education system.
Also speaking, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as “pure human capital development,” saying that it aligned with the President Tinubu administration’s goal of transitioning Nigeria into a knowledge-driven economy, just as he further described it as significant because every local government area would benefit.
The minister said by the end of the first decade of the execution of the scholarship programme, it is estimated that over 170,000 girl-child would have gone to school.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, speaking on behalf of the 36 state governors, also commended the initiative and pledged the governors’ full support.
Traditional rulers, including the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage, who chaired the programme’s steering committee, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, praised the initiative as unprecedented in scope and impact.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, said Dangote’s impact in driving private-sector transformation remained unmatched, describing the new initiative as both transformational and a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.
The foremost monarch recalled how ADF had come to the aid of his community during a devastating communal feud that led to destruction of several property.
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, in her own remark, commended the scheme, saying that it would create conditions for children to learn and families to thrive.
The scholarship programme represents the most extensive private-sector scholarship commitment in Nigeria’s history and reinforces ADF’s mission to expand opportunities, drive social impact, and enhance the wellbeing of individuals and communities across the country.
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