Bago Grants Free Tuition to 809 AKUM Students, Sets Up ₦100,000 Bursary Per Student

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has announced free tuition for 809 newly admitted students of Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna (AKUM) for the 2024/2025 academic session. The governor also revealed plans to allocate two per cent of the state’s total investment portfolio as an endowment for the university.

Governor Bago made the announcement during the matriculation ceremony, emphasizing the state’s commitment to supporting initiatives that will enable the institution to excel and serve as a benchmark for others.

In a major policy shift, he canceled a previous decision to sponsor students abroad on scholarship, opting instead to channel the funds locally. “It is not wrong for a leader to make a statement and retract it. We initially planned to send some students overseas, but today, I have decided to invest those resources here at home,” he said.

He further disclosed plans to construct a housing estate for university staff and lecturers and announced that Medicine and Medical Sciences programmes will be introduced in the next academic session. Each matriculated student is expected to receive a bursary of ₦100,000.

The Vice-Chancellor of AKUM, Prof. Mohammed Aliyu Paiko, congratulated the students and noted that the university is committed to equipping them with skills and innovative mindsets to become job creators. The Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Muhammad Yahaya Kuta, commended Governor Bago for his visionary leadership and investment in education.