According to NELFUND's circular, over N2.9billion has been allocated and distributed as loans for tuition fees to more than 27,000 students across 19 higher education institutions in Nigeria.
The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has reportedly excluded tertiary institutions in the South-East from the initial list of beneficiaries in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) disbursement.
According to NELFUND's circular, over N2.9billion has been allocated and distributed as loans for tuition fees to more than 27,000 students across 19 higher education institutions in Nigeria.
But none of these institutions are located in the South-East, while at least one institution from each of the other five geopolitical zones is included, People's Gazette reports.
However, the NELFUND spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, who was asked about the exclusion of South-East institutions from the list said that the distribution of funds was not influenced by geopolitical zones considerations.
Ayitogo was quoted as saying “There is no consideration of geopolitical zones in disbursement.”
He explained that only institutions which responded to NELFUND’s verification lists, sent to eligible institutions nationwide, have been included in the disbursement.
According to Ayitogo, “NELFUND sent a verification list to every eligible institution. Only those that responded are receiving funds. We have not yet received any responses from institutions in the South-East.”
The exclusion of the South-East region has fueled ongoing criticisms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, which has been accused of consistently neglecting the region in political and administrative matters since the party assumed the presidency in 2015.
SaharaReporters had reported in June that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that at least 30,000 students from various tertiary institutions across the country have been selected to benefit from the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The loan, introduced by President Bola Tinubu, seeks to provide accessible financial aid to students who struggle to afford the rising costs of tuition and related expenses.
The Senate President stated that the Student Loan bill was one of the most significant pieces of legislation passed by the 10th Assembly.
He noted that the bill allowed underprivileged children to pursue higher education without the burden of financial constraints, adding that it made the legislature most appealing to him as the Senate President.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that President Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
SaharaReporters reported on March 20 that the Nigerian Senate had passed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, after separate considerations by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund.
SaharaReporters also earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has given a total of N100billion to NELFUND from part of the recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the Nigerian government which the government decided to plough into students loan scheme.