The Gombe State scholarship is the state government’s yearly allowance for Gombe State indigenes in tertiary institutions anywhere in Nigeria, paid through the Gombe State Scholarship Board. Degree and HND students now get ₦22,000 per session, postgraduate students ₦30,000, NCE and ND students ₦18,000 and certificate students ₦12,000, with an extra ₦40,000 allowance for students with disabilities. You register once on the Board’s portal, gombestatescholarship.com, and your registration stays valid until you finish your course.
Registration for the 2025/2026 session opened on 30 September 2026, and the Board’s announcement gave 20 October 2026 as the closing date (some listings say 26 October). If the portal no longer accepts new registrations when you try, the Gombe State scholarship deadline is 20 October 2027. Below is who should register, who should not, the documents, the allowance table and the steps on the portal.
How much is the Gombe State scholarship allowance?
In October 2025 Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya approved an increase of more than 100 per cent in scholarship allowances, the first full review since 2005, according to the Commissioner for Higher Education, Muhammad Shettima Gadam. The same review brought postgraduate students into the scheme.
| Programme | Allowance per session |
|---|---|
| PhD, MSc, PGD | ₦30,000 |
| Degree, HND | ₦22,000 |
| NCE, ND | ₦18,000 |
| Certificate | ₦12,000 |
| Students with disabilities | ₦40,000 special allowance on top of the approved rate |
After the review, the governor flagged off payment of ₦1.5 billion to 18,750 Gombe students in institutions across Nigeria in November 2025. Some of them received several sessions at once, covering up to four sessions of arrears. The money is small next to school fees, but registering costs you nothing and the arrears show it does get paid.
Gombe State scholarship key dates
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Portal opens | 30 September 2027 |
| Deadline | 20 October 2027 |
| Verification | Board to announce dates |
(based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens). The portal itself is final on whether registration is still open.
Who should register for the Gombe State scholarship
In a statement of 12 October 2026, signed by Shuaibu Gidado for the Director/Executive Secretary, the Scholarship Board set out who the current registration is for.
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Registered in the 2025 exercise | Do not register again. Your registration stays valid for the whole of your course. |
| Gombe indigene still in school who did not register in 2025 | Register now |
| Newly admitted for 2025/2026 | Register now |
| Registered twice | Disqualified at verification |
The Board also disowned a registration circular that was going round on social media, said the current exercise is not an extension of the 2025 one, and told students to follow only its own announcements.
Eligibility rules
- State of origin: you must be an indigene of Gombe State.
- Institution: enrolled in, or newly admitted to, an accredited university, polytechnic, college of education or other recognised institution, in Gombe or any other state.
- Grades: you must meet the minimum grade set on the portal, which cites 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent as an example.
- Documents: you must upload the required documents before the portal closes.
Documents for the Gombe State scholarship
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Certificate of state of origin | Issued by your local government in Gombe State |
| Admission letter | From your institution |
| Academic transcript or results | Your most recent academic record |
| Passport photograph | Recent |
| Student identity card | From your institution |
Your name must match across all of them. New students who have not printed their admission letter can follow our guide to JAMB CAPS and admission letters. The Board may ask for more documents at verification.
How to register on the Gombe State scholarship portal
- Open the portal: go to gombestatescholarship.com/applicant/register.
- Create your account: enter your personal details exactly as on your state of origin certificate.
- Add academic details: institution, course, programme type (degree, HND, ND, NCE and so on) and level.
- Upload documents: attach clear scans of each document.
- Review and submit: check everything, submit, and save or screenshot the confirmation.
- Watch for verification: the Board will announce screening dates; bring your originals when called.
For technical problems with the portal, listings give the Scholarship Board’s WhatsApp support line as 07061373333.
Scam warning
Applying is free; never pay anyone. Register only on gombestatescholarship.com and trust only circulars from the Gombe State Scholarship Board, which has already disowned one fake registration notice this year.
Getting your documents ready before the portal opens
The registration window is about three weeks long, and the slowest part is usually the paperwork from home, not the portal. Start in August or early September.
- Certificate of state of origin: this comes from your local government area in Gombe State. If you live outside Gombe, ask a parent or relative at home to help, since it can take time to collect.
- Admission letter: new students should accept admission on JAMB CAPS and print both the JAMB letter and the school’s own letter. Returning students can use the letter they got in 100 level.
- Results: continuing students need their latest result or transcript showing their CGPA. New students can use their admission documents and O’Level result if the portal asks.
- Student ID card: new students who have not received one yet should ask the Board whether a course registration form will do in the meantime.
- Passport photograph: recent, plain background, clearly lit.
- Scanning: scan each document separately and keep the files small enough to upload on mobile data. Clear PDF or JPG files are the safe choice; the portal’s own limits apply.
There is no essay or personal statement. This is an allowance for every eligible indigene, not a competition, so accuracy matters far more than writing.
Eligibility edge cases
- Born and raised outside Gombe: what counts is being an indigene, proved by a certificate of state of origin from a Gombe LGA. Where you grew up does not matter.
- Long-time residents who are not indigenes: the scheme is for indigenes, so residence alone is not enough.
- Private universities and polytechnics: the rule says accredited institutions in Gombe or any other state, and does not exclude private ones. The portal and verification are final.
- Students studying abroad: the published scope is institutions in Nigeria, so foreign universities are not covered by this allowance.
- Postgraduate students: now included at ₦30,000 a session since the October 2025 review.
- Low CGPA: the portal cites 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent as an example minimum. If you are below it, you may not pass screening.
- Moved from ND to HND: your programme and allowance rate change. The Board has not said whether ND registrations carry over to HND, so ask at the Board before deciding not to register.
Common mistakes
- Registering again after registering in 2025. The Board disqualifies double registrations.
- Following a circular shared on WhatsApp instead of the Board’s own notices.
- Spelling your name differently on the portal and on your state of origin certificate.
- Choosing the wrong programme type, for example “degree” when you are on an HND, which changes your rate and can cause problems at verification.
- Not saving the submission confirmation, then having no proof if your record goes missing.
- Missing the verification exercise because you stopped checking for announcements.
What happens after you register
After the portal closes, the Board announces verification. Bring the originals of every document you uploaded. Once verified, you are on the list for payment, and your registration stays valid until you finish your course. The Board has not published a payment calendar. Past practice shows payment can come late and in a lump sum: the November 2025 flag-off cleared up to four sessions of arrears for some students. If your phone number or other details change, update the Board, and keep checking its announcements.
What the allowance will not cover
At ₦12,000 to ₦30,000 a session, this is support money, not a scholarship that pays fees. Plan to fund these from elsewhere:
- Tuition and school charges
- Hostel, feeding and transport
- Books, laptop and data
- Project, SIWES and field trip costs
That is why it makes sense to register for this allowance and also apply for larger private scholarships.
How Gombe compares with other state awards
| Award | Amount | Who it is for | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gombe State Scholarship | ₦12,000 to ₦30,000 a session | Gombe indigenes in Nigerian tertiary institutions | 20 October 2027 |
| Oyo State Bursary | ₦100,000 to ₦500,000 | Final-year Oyo indigenes in public institutions | 2 November 2026 |
| Osun Indigenes Scholarship | ₦100,000 paid to the school | Full-time Osun State students in financial need | 22 October 2027 |
| Prince Ukeme Ukpong Scholarship | Support for fees and study | Akwa Ibom indigenes in university, ND/HND or nursing | 4 November 2026 |
Who should register, and who should not
Register if you are a Gombe indigene in a recognised Nigerian institution at any level from certificate to PhD, and you did not register in the 2025 exercise. Students with disabilities should register too, since they get the extra ₦40,000 allowance.
Do not register if you already registered in 2025 (you are covered until you graduate), you are not a Gombe indigene, or you are studying outside Nigeria.
The allowance can sit alongside other awards. Look at the Wole Ogunyemi Foundation undergraduate scholarship, and, if you are a female engineering student, the Julius Berger scholarship.
FAQ on the Gombe State scholarship
I registered in 2025. Do I need to register again?
No. The Board says a 2025 registration is valid for your whole course, and registering twice gets you disqualified.
What is the Gombe State scholarship deadline?
The deadline is 20 October 2027, with the portal due to open on 30 September 2027. The portal itself is final on whether registration is open.
Can I apply if I school outside Gombe State?
Yes. The scholarship covers Gombe indigenes in accredited institutions anywhere in Nigeria.
How much do degree students get?
₦22,000 per session for degree and HND students, under the rates approved in October 2025.
Sources and updates
Allowance rates and the October 2025 review come from ThisDay’s report of 18 October 2025 quoting the Commissioner for Higher Education. The ₦1.5 billion payment to 18,750 students comes from Leadership and Nigerian Tribune’s reports of the governor’s flag-off. Who should register and the fake circular warning come from the Scholarship Board’s statement of 12 October 2026, as reported by MySchoolGist and Osilight. The 2025/2026 portal dates, portal address, documents and WhatsApp line come from listings of the Board’s announcement on MySchoolGist and CrispNG. Last checked 24 October 2026; I will update this page when verification dates are announced.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
