Student unions in Gombe State have pledged that they would vote massively for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in recognition of his contribution to education development, including the introduction of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Mr Abubakar Mohammed, President, Students Representative Council, Gombe State University (GSU), stated this at a news conference in Gombe on Thursday.
Mohammed, who is also the Gombe State Coordinator of the Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), described the NELFUND scheme as the most impressive and impactful education intervention of any administration in recent times.
He said that the initiative has tackled one of the major challenges preventing and denying indigent students access to higher quality education.
Mohammed said that over 11,000 students of the GSU benefited from the scheme since inception.
‘This is timely considering the number of students who dropped out of school, but they are now back and studying without any fear of financing or funding.
‘This means a lot to students here, and we are ready to re-elect the president as our own way of saying thank you.
‘Voting Tinubu means more access to education and from all indications, Tinubu’s administration has prioritised education and students’ welfare.
‘For this, we will re-elect him, including our parents because the burden of paying school fees has been taken off their shoulders. So, they have a duty to vote for Tinubu too,’ he said.
Mohammed said that massive mobilisation for Tinubu’s re-election was ongoing in the North-East region.
‘Anyone thinking of scrapping NELFUND does not care about students.
‘So, the opposition have already shown us that they do not care about us, they do not care about the youths, and they do not care about the education of Nigerian students.
‘So, we are saying Tinubu’s re-election is our task and duty.
‘We will support those who support us, and we will appreciate those who appreciate us.
‘We will vote for President Tinubu because we want NELFUND sustained to keep many students in school else the drop out may continue which will not help us in the north,’ he said.
Mohammed urged the government at all levels to sustain investments in education, skills development, and the youth, stressing that the strength of Nigeria’s next generation would determine the strength of the nation.