The Kwara State government has commenced the disbursement of financial assistance to 26,852 students, who are indigenes of the State in tertiary institutions across the country.

The chairman, government's committee on students' palliative fund, Prof. Shehu Adaramaja, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

Adaramaja said that the disbursement, which started on Monday, followed a thorough screening process that lasted weeks.

He explained that each beneficiary received a palliative fund of N10,000 directly into their account to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

“The distribution of the palliative fund is a testament to the government's commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of its students.

“By extending this financial assistance, the governor is showing empathy to the students and parents who need all the support they can get at this time.

“The disbursement of funds was made directly to the bank accounts of the students, ensuring transparent and efficient allocation. Efforts were made to ensure that the funds were received by students from diverse academic disciplines and backgrounds, helping to cater for the needs of a wide range of deserving students from 140 higher institutions across the country.

“You would recall that an online platform was created some weeks ago for eligible students to register online and provide necessary data, including their bank details.

“At the end of the registration exercise, a total of 30,775 students registered online. In the data verification and analysis carried out by the technical committee, those with incomplete registrations, multiple registrations, forged citizenship certificates, etc, were weeded out, and that pegged the number of beneficiaries at 26,852,” Adaramaja stated.