President Bola Tinubu is expected in Kaduna State Today Thursday for the inauguration of several key developmental projects executed by the administration of Gov. Uba Sani.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visit forms part of activities marking Sani’s two years in office.

The projects lined up for inauguration include the 300-bed Specialist Hospital in Millennium City, Kaduna, built by the state government to bolster the provision of healthcare services.

Tinubu will also inaugurate the Institute of Vocational Training and Skills Development in Rigachikun, road projects in Soba, and Samaru Kataf LGA’S as well as the 24-kilometre Kafanchan Township Road.

Others are the Tudun Biri Road, the 22km road linking Kauru and Kubau LGAs as well as the Vocational and Skills Training Centre in Tudun Biri.

Tinubu is also expected to unveil 100 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, as part of efforts to modernise the state’s public transportation system.

The projects are part of the administration’s focus on infrastructurde evelopment, healthcare delivery, youths empowerment, and economic growth.

The state government described the visit as a significant moment for the people of Kaduna and an opportunity to showcase ongoing efforts to transform the state through impactful governance.

Sani, who marked his second year in office this month, has prioritised human capital development, rural infrastructure, and jobs creation since taking office in 2023.

Tinubu’s visit to Kaduna State was rescheduled from Wednesday to Thursday.

He was initially supposed to visit Kaduna on Wednesday, but due to the recent attacks in Benue, he shifted his trip.

The president visited Benue on Wednesday to commiserate with the victims of the recent attacks and assess the humanitarian crisis.

During his visit to Benue, Tinubu met with stakeholders, including traditional rulers, political and community leaders, and youth groups, to seek lasting solutions to the hostilities.

He also condemned the ongoing violence and called on the residents to embrace peace and mutual understanding.

NAN recalls that the Benue Government had declared a work-free day for Tinubu’s visit, urging the residents to turn out in large numbers to welcome him.

Cross session photograph of governors during the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) meeting at it Secretariat on Wednesday in Abuja
Abuja, June 19, 2025 (NAN)The 36 state governors have reiterated their commitment to working closely with the Federal Government to harmonise levies, remove illegal checkpoints, and enhance the free movement of goods across states.

The governors made the pledge after the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) meeting in Abuja, in a communique signed by the forum Chairman, Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, and read by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.

Sanwo-Olu said that the forum at the meeting deliberated on issues affecting the country, including rising cost of food in the country.

“The forum received a briefing from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, accompanied by the Ministers of Defence, Agriculture, Livestock Development, and Transportation, on the rising cost of food and livestock transportation across the country.

“The presentation revealed that the proliferation of checkpoints, illegal taxation, and poor infrastructure are key contributors to price inflation and inefficiencies in the food supply chain.

“The NSA noted that a high-level inter-ministerial committee has been established to address these concerns and has submitted its recommendations for the endorsement of the forum.

“Governors acknowledged the urgency of the matter and expressed commitment to collaborate with federal authorities to streamline levies, dismantle unauthorised checkpoints, and improve the movement of goods across states,” he said

Sanwo-Olu who said that the forum also received a presentation from the World Bank on the (NG-CARES) programme, expressed the governors’ concerns over the non-fulfilment of the bank’s funding pledges under the NG-CARES 1.0 programme.

He noted that “the Bank highlighted that states made significant investments totaling over US$2.2 billion through the NG-CARES delivery platforms, with verified impacts reaching over 17 million direct beneficiaries.

“Governors expressed concern over the non-fulfilment of funding pledges by the Bank under NG-CARES 1.0.

“The forum emphasized the need for an amicable resolution between the World Bank and participating states to conclude the first phase of the programme before advancing to NG-CARES 2.0, which is designed to build long-term resilience for vulnerable households and enterprises,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting which ended in the early hours of Thursday, had in attendance governors of Kwara, Oyo, Imo, Anambra, Akwa-Ibom, Osun and Plateau.

Others are governors of Lagos, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Kogi, Ondo, Cross-River, Ogun and Edo.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a directive to all accredited tertiary institutions to verify and upload their students’ data on the newly digitised Student Loan Application System (SLAS).

This was disclosed in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

According to Oluwatuyi, the SLAS platform has been fully digitised to streamline and accelerate the student loan processing experience for both institutions and applicants.

“With this upgrade, all accredited institutions are now required to request access to SLAS to verify and upload student data related to loan applications,” she said.

She described the move as “a critical step that ensures the timely processing and disbursement of approved student loans.”

Institutions that have not yet been onboarded onto the system, she said, are advised to send an access request to registration@nelf.gov.ng without delay.

“Once granted access, institutions will be able to view a real-time dashboard of their students’ loan applications, verify submitted data, and track the status of each application,” Oluwatuyi explained.

She called on all institutions to take immediate action in the interest of their students, stressing that verification and data upload by institutions are mandatory steps before final approval and disbursement of loans can be completed.

On the students’ side, Oluwatuyi noted that if an application status currently shows “Verified,” it means the application has passed initial checks. However, final approval and disbursement depend on the institutions’ confirmation and data upload.

“Once this process is completed, your status will be updated to ‘Disbursed’ when the payment of your fees has been processed,” she added.

She also encouraged students to reach out to the fund for assistance via email at info@nelf.gov.ng.

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