The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Renewed Hope Project 2027, Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd.), has urged Nigerians to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office in the 2027 presidential election.
Jibrin, who is also Secretary of the Civil Defence, Immigration and Prison Services Board, made the call in Abuja during a One-Million-Student Solidarity Walk organised in support of the President.
The march, organised by the Renewed Hope Project 2027 in collaboration with the ‘Tinubu Again’ movement, began at Unity Fountain and ended at Eagle Square, opposite the National Assembly complex.
The event attracted students and youth groups who expressed support for the Tinubu administration and its policies, particularly in the education sector.
Addressing the participants, Jibrin said failing to re-elect Tinubu in 2027 would be a ‘colossal mistake,’ while urging Nigerians to consider the administration’s policies and programmes.
He highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing it as a significant intervention to expand access to higher education and support students.
Jibrin said the initiative demonstrated the administration’s commitment to student welfare and access to education.
He urged students and young Nigerians to stay engaged with government policies and programmes while actively participating in the democratic process.
‘You agree with me when you look at the streets, you see a lot of children who are supposed to be in schools, but they have dropped out, and the reason is that their parents cannot afford it,’ Jibrin stated.
‘Under the arrangement and approval of the President, NELFUND is giving every dropout student a soft loan that is interest-free for tuition and living allowances. This is the first time any government is doing this in this country.’
He added that beyond direct financial aid to students, the Tinubu-led administration has prioritised stabilising and expanding tertiary institutions nationwide to boost capacity and foster self-reliance among graduates.
‘Our institutions have been stabilised by providing adequate funding to ensure that they expand, create new faculties, and focus on technical education and skills training. This is designed to make our graduates ready not only for government employment, but to become employers of labour themselves,’ he explained.
Calling on Nigerians to consolidate the ongoing reforms across the country, the retired senior officer emphasised that continuity remains critical to sustaining the gains recorded so far.
‘It shall be a colossal mistake by Nigerians if we don’t give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu another opportunity to govern this country for the next four years,’ Jibrin asserted. He urged supporters and civic groups to intensify grassroots mobilisation across communities to guarantee a decisive electoral victory for the President.
Speaking at the event, the group’s National Patron, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmoud Mubi, said the organisation had expanded its voting target significantly due to surging interest among young Nigerians.
Mubi explained that after initially registering 1.8 million students on its platform with a target of 4.8 million, the rapid influx of new supporters has now pushed their projection to 12 million votes nationwide for President Tinubu in 2027.
Also addressing the gathering, the Managing Director of NELFUND, Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr, called on students to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing the administration’s historic interventions in the education sector.
Sawyerr urged Nigerian students to recognise the direct benefits provided through the loan scheme and other federal educational interventions as they make their political choices.
Highlighting the scheme’s scale, the NELFUND boss disclosed that as of September 2026, the fund had processed about 1.66 million student-loan applications and disbursed ?355.87 billion since opening its application portal in May 2024.
Breaking down the expenditure, Sawyerr said over ?192.89 billion was paid as institutional fees directly to 319 tertiary institutions, while ?162.98 billion was disbursed directly to students to cover their upkeep allowances.