In a country where millions of university students conduct research on borrowed phones and submit assignments from cybercafés, Project New Nigeria is making a different argument: that digital tools are not luxuries, but necessities.
On April 22, 2026, the initiative took that argument to Niger Delta University (NDU) in Bayelsa State, and backed it up with action.
At a well-attended event held at the New Site Multipurpose Hall of NDU, Project New Nigeria, under the leadership of Founder and Convener Samuel Kaley Nzidee, and in partnership with the Foundation for Citizens Empowerment and Sensitisation on Civic Responsibility and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), distributed 15 iPads to students as part of its continuing digital empowerment campaign.
The device distribution was paired with 300 scholarships, including one special scholarship, addressing both the financial and technological barriers that prevent young Nigerians from reaching their academic potential.
Project New Nigeria has done what many initiatives only promise: it has delivered. This NDU event is the second time the initiative has executed this dual-intervention model, following a similar programme at the University of Port Harcourt last year, bringing the total number of students directly supported to over 400 across two institutions.
The NDDC’s involvement lent the programme significant institutional backing. Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, Managing Director of the NDDC, represented by Engr. Jeremiah Oritsejolone, director of Social Services, framed the initiative as consistent with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“This programme reflects the commission’s vision of shifting from a transactional model to a transformational development approach. We praise the organisers for targeting young people and creating a platform to shape Nigeria’s future.” – Engr. Jeremiah Oritsejolone, director of Social Services, NDDC, representing the MD, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.
“When a student has the right tools, everything changes, how they study, how they communicate, how they present themselves to the world. A laptop is not just a device. In a student’s hands, it is a door. Project New Nigeria is in the business of opening doors.” – Samuel Kaley Nzidee, founder and Convener, Project New Nigeria
The response from beneficiaries confirmed the programme’s real-world impact. Mr. Josiah Prosper of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Miss Layefa Tare of the Department of Human Anatomy, both iPad recipients, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the organisers and offered prayers for the initiative’s continued success and expansion.
The event also hosted comedian and influencer Sabinus, alongside Ball Boy and Hype Queen Pandora, who engaged students on civic participation, voter registration, and the power of young Nigerians to shape electoral outcomes.
The programming reflected Project New Nigeria’s integrated philosophy: that economic empowerment, digital access, and democratic engagement are three sides of the same triangle.
Nigeria’s higher education system faces a widening gap between the digital expectations of the modern job market and the resources available to most students, particularly those in Niger Delta institutions. Project New Nigeria is not waiting for government policy to close that gap.
Its campus-by-campus approach is creating tangible change where it is most needed: in the hands of students, at the start of their professional lives.
