A student of Ekiti State University (EKSU) has slammed the Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope Digital Acceleration Programme for students, alleging that an event advertised around the distribution of laptops left many students without the devices they expected to receive.
The student, identified on X as @renny_theVA, said students were invited to the programme on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, with the expectation that laptops, money and bags would be distributed. According to the student, however, attendees were later informed that only “nominees” would receive laptops, a condition she said had not been communicated before the event.
The student said she arrived at the university shortly after 11am for a programme scheduled to begin at 10am and went through registration before the event eventually started around noon. She said that shortly after the programme began, organisers announced that nominees for the laptops should prepare to receive them.
“They told us to come to school today because @officialABAT and his people were coming to share laptops, money and bags to students.
“I didn’t even need laptop.
“I just wanted to help my sister get one because she’s about to resume.
“So, I got there past 11am for a program that… https://t.co/i8GtMfZbII pic.twitter.com/upJFTnRjdg”
— Omoya Renike|| Virtual Assistant (@renny_theVA) September 30, 2026
She questioned the introduction of the nominee requirement, saying students had not initially been told that they needed to be nominated or submit a letterhead from their schools explaining why they required a computer. The development, she said, prompted her to leave the venue after concluding that the process differed from what students had initially been led to expect.
According to her account, a friend who remained at the venue later told her that students were given table water and rice. She also said organisers distributed branded shirts, caps and jotters to participants during the programme.
The student questioned the decision to spend resources on event materials and branding when, in her estimation, fewer than 50 laptops were available on the distribution table. She argued that more computers could have been provided if some of the resources used for promotional materials had instead been directed towards purchasing laptops.
She stressed that her criticism was not based on an expectation that every student must receive a laptop. Rather, she said the concern was that students had been invited to an event where laptop distribution appeared to be a central attraction, only for the process to become restricted to selected nominees whose requirements had not been clearly communicated beforehand.
The programme, identified as the Renewed Hope Digital Acceleration Programme for South West Students 2026, featured government officials and presentations as part of its activities. The student’s post, accompanied by photographs from the event, questioned whether the resources devoted to organising and branding the programme could have been better directed towards expanding the number of students who received the promised digital devices.
The criticism has added to online discussion about the implementation of government-backed student empowerment programmes, particularly the need for clear eligibility criteria and transparent communication before beneficiaries are invited to distribution events.
The student’s account represents her experience and observations at the EKSU event, while the organisers’ response to the specific allegations about the number of laptops, prior communication and expenditure on event materials was not contained in the material provided.
(Parallel Facts, X. Photo: Parallel Facts)