Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has launched the 2026 bursary, scholarship, and financial assistance scheme, disbursing ₦400 million to 13,360 tertiary institution students of Ondo State origin across Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch event at the Cocoa Conference Centre in Akure, Governor Aiyedatiwa described education as a vital investment in the state’s future and a central component of his administration’s “OUR EASE” development framework. The intervention fund encompasses five main categories, including ₦100,000 scholarships for 614 high-achieving undergraduates maintaining a CGPA of 4.0/5.0 or 3.0/4.0, ₦100,000 grants each for 239 Nigerian Law School students and 500 clinical medical students, ₦75,000 each for 100 physically challenged students, and ₦20,000 bursaries for 11,907 general tertiary students. In a special gesture, the governor also awarded a scholarship and automatic bursary enrollment to the child of the late student leader Comrade Mary Ogunga, who passed away in July before completing her final Bar examinations.
Beyond direct student grants, the administration is executing broader educational reforms under the 2026 Budget of Economic Consolidation. Education Commissioner Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun disclosed that ₦633.92 million was released to cover 2026 WASSCE registration fees for public secondary school students, while tablets are being distributed across 50 public schools to launch a new Digital Literacy Programme.
The state is also rehabilitating 500 basic schools, implementing federal salary agreements with increased subventions for tertiary institution staff, converting Rufus Giwa Polytechnic into the University of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Owo (UNASTO), and establishing new colleges of nursing and education in Igbokoda and Aboto.
To modernize welfare delivery and eliminate fraud, Senior Special Assistant on Scholarship Samad Orijeminiyi announced a partnership with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to create a dedicated mobile application.
The platform will establish a centralized digital registry to verify student profiles, streamline scholarship management, and attract corporate social responsibility funding. Representing the beneficiaries, Comrade Temitope Alade, Global President of the National Association of Ondo State Students, praised Governor Aiyedatiwa for his sustained dedication to student welfare and educational advancement across the state.
