“Scholarship portal” is one of the most searched scholarship terms in Nigeria, and fake portals that charge “registration fees” are everywhere. Below are the official portals for federal, state and company scholarships, checked on 4 November 2026, with the ones open now at the top. We only list a portal when we could confirm it is run by the government body or company itself.
Open now
- Kwara State Bursary Award 2025/2026: for Kwara indigene students in tertiary institutions; closes 16 November 2026.
- NNPC Ltd/SNEPCo National University Scholarship 2026: for second-year undergraduates in public universities with a CGPA of 3.5 or more; closes 30 November 2026.
Federal scholarship portals
- Federal Ministry of Education scholarships: the Federal Scholarship Board is now the Department of Scholarship Awards. Its portal is scholarship.education.gov.ng. It runs the Nigerian Scholarship Awards for students in public tertiary institutions, the Federal Government bursary for education students and the NYSC ex-corps scholarship, and nominates Nigerians for the Commonwealth Scholarships. The Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scheme has been discontinued. No 2026/27 application window has been announced yet.
- PTDF: scholarship.ptdf.gov.ng. The overseas postgraduate scheme usually opens in January (2026 closed on 27 February) and the in-country scheme around April to June. Both 2026 rounds are closed.
- NDDC: scholarship.nddc.gov.ng, for indigenes of the nine Niger Delta states. The 2026/27 foreign postgraduate round is complete.
- NELFUND student loans: nelf.gov.ng. Interest-free loans, not scholarships; repayment starts two years after NYSC.
State scholarship board portals
- Kwara: scholarship.kwarastate.gov.ng (bursary open until 16 November 2026).
- Lagos: lagosscholarship.org. The last bursary and scholarship window ran early in 2026; expect the next around January–February 2027.
- Jigawa: the Jigawa State Scholarship Board’s portal, applicant.safapply.com/jssb, linked from the state’s official Jigawa Digital Gateway.
- Kaduna: kdsg-scholarship.com, the Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board, linked from the state government’s website.
- Akwa Ibom: bursary.akwaibomstate.gov.ng, the annual state bursary of ₦50,000 per verified student.
- Oyo: scholarshipboard.oyostate.gov.ng.
- Bauchi: the Bauchi State Scholarship Board’s 2026 exercise ran from February and has closed. We could not confirm the board’s website as an official government site, so check announcements from the state government before applying.
- Kano and Katsina: no online portal. Kano’s Scholarships Board now sits under the state Ministry of Education; Katsina announced a merit scholarship for the top 50 students in each LGA in May 2026. Watch the state governments’ official channels.
We could not find a working official portal for Rivers, Delta, Ogun, Niger, Bayelsa, Edo, Ondo, Enugu or Anambra. If a site claims to be one of these boards, check that it is linked from the state government’s own website first.
Company and foundation scholarships
- NNPC Ltd/SNEPCo: applications through the official Scholastica platform; open until 30 November 2026.
- Aliko Dangote Foundation scholarship: according to the National Universities Commission, the foundation plans non-refundable grants for 30,000 STEM undergraduates in federal and state universities in its first phase, with a minimum CGPA of 2.5. No application portal or deadline has been published yet; ignore any site asking you to pay.
- Innocent Chukwuma (ICCEF) scholarship: the 2026 round on iccef.org.ng closed on 30 July. It covers tuition for students in public secondary and tertiary institutions, or a final-year project. If it runs again, expect the next round around June–July 2027.
Eligibility: who can apply for these scholarships
- State scholarships and bursaries are for indigenes of that state, usually with a certificate of state of origin, studying in a recognised tertiary institution in Nigeria.
- Most federal and company schemes want students in public universities, often with a minimum CGPA (for example 3.5 for NNPC/SNEPCo and 2.4 for PTDF undergraduates).
- Nearly all now require a valid NIN that matches your school records.
- NDDC is only for indigenes of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
How to apply safely, and how to spot fake portals
- Look for .gov.ng on state and federal portals, or a link to the portal from the government’s own website.
- Never pay a “registration” or “processing” fee to an agent or a personal account. Some portals charge a small official fee (PTDF passes on the NIMC NIN check fee, for example), but government scholarships do not sell slots.
- Have your NIN ready. Most portals now verify it.
- Apply yourself. Most portals are simple: create an account, upload your documents and print your slip.
More scholarships for Nigerians
- Scholarships for Africans 2027, fully funded and partial
- Master’s scholarships 2027 for Nigerians and Africans
- UK scholarships for Nigerian students
- Canada scholarships for Nigerian students
Checked against each body’s official website on 4 November 2026. Tell us about an official portal we have missed.
