Nigeria industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has announced a N100 billion yearly education support initiative, describing it as a long-term investment aimed at reducing financial barriers that drive millions of young Nigerians out of school.
The programme is expected to cost more than N1 trillion over the next decade.
Dangote, while speaking at the launch in Lagos, yesterday, said that the plan would support 45,000 new students every year from 2026, rising to 155,000 beneficiaries by the fourth year and remaining at that level for 10 years.
In total, the scheme is projected to reach 1.3 million students across all 774 local councils.
According to him, the initiative comprises four programmes targeted at sectors where educational exclusion is most acute. Through the Aliko Dangote STEM scholars, the programme will fund 30,000 undergraduate students yearly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across Nigeria’s public universities and polytechnics. Beneficiaries will have their tuition aligned to actual institutional fees.
A total of 5,000 students in public technical and vocational institutions will receive support each year for tools, materials and essential training requirements through the Aliko Dangote Technical Scholars. This complements the Federal Government’s recent policy providing free tuition for TVET students.
The Presidency has praised Dangote for unveiling what is now the largest private education support programme in Nigeria, describing the initiative as a major boost to the Federal Government’s human capital development agenda.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, while speaking at the event, said the intervention demonstrates the critical role of private-sector actors in national development.
He noted that Nigeria’s demographic growth makes urgent investment in education indispensable, warning that ‘a population becomes a liability only when it is uneducated’.
Shettima added that the Aliko Dangote Foundation programme would widen opportunities for thousands of learners and bolster the Federal Government’s efforts to build a competitive workforce. He called for stronger collaboration between the government, the private sector and development partners to address persistent gaps in the education system.
Dangote said the intervention aimed at Nigeria’s most vulnerable learners, noting that financial hardship, rather than a lack of talent, is the primary reason many drop out of school. He noted that for more than three decades, the Aliko Dangote Foundation had invested heavily in health, nutrition, economic empowerment and humanitarian support across Nigeria.
He, however, said that one guiding principle has remained unchanged: ‘no nation can rise above the quality of education it offers its young people’.
Dangote said the focus would be on measurable outcomes, including retention, completion rates and post-school impact, noting that the vision behind the initiative is to give every deserving child the chance to learn — unfettered by cost, free to dream, and equipped to achieve.
Dangote also disclosed that the programme’s long-term sustainability is tied to his formal commitment to allocate 25 per cent of his wealth to the Aliko Dangote Foundation, adding that the progress on the initiative will be reviewed in 2030 as part of Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 strategy.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda in the education sector, alongside the Federal Ministry of Education, SUBEBs and state governments for ‘deliberate and steady efforts’ to support learners amid economic pressures.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, speaking on behalf of the 36 state governors, also commended the initiative and pledged the governors’ full support.
Also, Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as ‘pure human capital development’, saying it aligns with the Tinubu administration’s education sector renewal plan of transforming Nigeria from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy and is significant because every local council will benefit.
