By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Following the directive of the federal government through the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) to close all Universities in the country between 22nd February and14th March, 2023, the Kwara State Government has declared a 50 percent transport support to Kwara state students in tertiary institutions across the country.

Commissioner for Tertiary Education Dr. Alabi Afees Abolore, who made this known in a statement in Ilorin by the Ministry’s Press Secretary, Mansurat Amuda-Kannike, said the support would be monetised and transferred to the beneficiaries’ accounts after verifications.

This gesture of 50% transport support for students returning home is coming barely 12 hours after Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration announced free bus palliative for students of the University of Ilorin and Kwara State Polytechnic which begins today Monday, 13th February, 2023.

Dr. Abolore explained that the directive to close all Nigerian Universities for that period was to allow all students of voting age to exercise their franchise during the forthcoming general elections across the country.

The Commissioner lauded Governor AbdulRazaq for according utmost priority to the welfare of the students in the state, adding that the 50 percent subsidy was meant to augment transportation fares of students returning to Kwara State.

Dr. Abolore also recalled that the state government recently offered free transportation to students of Kwara state origin who went back to school after the last protracted ASUU strike. Other gestures by the government to the students, he said, included 100 percent increment in their bursary allowances, scholarships for Kwara indigenes in Nigerian Law Schools, as well as sponsorship of Kwara students abroad to further their studies, among others.