The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) chapter, has awarded scholarships totaling ₦6.2 million to 31 indigent students of the institution, as part of efforts to ease financial hardship and promote access to higher education.
The Chairperson of ASUU-OOU, Dr Ganiyu Yinusa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, describing the initiative as part of the union’s sustained commitment to equity, student welfare, and inclusive education.
According to Yinusa, each beneficiary received ₦200,000, bringing the total value of the scholarship intervention to ₦6.2 million.
“The financial support is meant to assist beneficiaries with the payment of school fees and other approved charges for the 2025/2026 academic session, thereby reducing the financial burden on students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said.
Yinusa explained that the Indigent Students Scholarship Scheme was largely funded through voluntary donations by internal members of the University Council, who contributed their sitting allowances from several council meetings. The effort was further supported by direct financial contributions from the ASUU-OOU branch.
He described the gesture as a demonstration of collective sacrifice, responsibility, and solidarity within the university community.
“This intervention reflects our belief that no qualified student should be denied access to university education due to financial constraints,” Yinusa said, adding that the union remains committed to preventing student drop-out caused by economic hardship.
The ASUU chair noted that the scholarship scheme forms part of the union’s broader agenda to promote inclusive education, support academic excellence, and ensure that vulnerable students are not excluded from the university system.
ASUU-OOU also commended the internal members of the University Council for voluntarily donating their sitting allowances, describing the act as a rare and commendable example of personal sacrifice in support of education and human capital development.
The beneficiaries were congratulated and urged to remain focused, disciplined, and committed to their academic pursuits, with the union stressing that the scholarship serves both as financial relief and a call to academic excellence.
The statement added that the initiative reinforces ASUU’s role not only as a defender of staff welfare and university autonomy, but also as an active stakeholder in student development, social justice, and sustainable access to quality education within Nigeria’s public university system.
Poverty remains one of the major barriers to higher education in Nigeria, with rising tuition costs and economic pressures forcing many students to suspend or abandon their studies.
In this context, recent data from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) highlights growing demand for financial support among students nationwide.
Speaking recently, NELFUND Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that the agency had disbursed a total of ₦154.3 billion in student loans to 788,947 beneficiaries as of December 2025, since the programme commenced 19 months earlier.
Sawyerr said the beneficiaries were selected from 1,265,509 applications received since loan disbursement began on May 24, 2024.
Of the total amount disbursed, ₦82.34 billion was paid as institutional fees, while ₦72.02 billion covered students’ upkeep allowances across 262 tertiary institutions nationwide.