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EDO, Nigeria - The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it has so far disbursed N35 billion to 261,000 students in the country.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, stated this at a sensitisation programme for Edo students at the Edo State University, Iyamoh, Edo, on Thursday.
The programme is in conjunction with the Edo State Ministry of Education.
Sawyerr said, “So far in Nigeria, we have disbursed over N22 billion in institutional fees, that is, money paid to institutions. We have disbursed about N11 billion in upkeep that goes up every month. So far, we have disbursed about N35billion in total. We have received about 520,000 registrations and about 419,000 applications. We have processed and paid 261,000 students, both upkeep and institutional fees.’’
The NELFUND boss said that the organisation was fully funded to cater for Nigerian students, as long as they were eligible students of any institution in the country.
He said, “So far, we are very well- funded, the political will demonstrated by President Bola Tinubu to allow us access funds outside the statutory allocation is well commended. The law provides for us to raise funds from non-governmental quarters and I think it’s fair to say many Nigerians are helping students with their school fees. And some of these NGOs are now injecting their funds into NELFUND for us to be able to deploy accordingly.
Many people want to give to this country but they don’t have a vehicle through which to do that. NELFUND has become a channel for giving and I believe if we put the right structures in place, as long as it seems to be honest and we are honest and transparent about how to deploy the funds.’’
The Edo Commissioner for Education, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy, however, expressed displeasure over the low number of Edo students applying for the loan.
“The number of students who have benefited is relatively low,” he said.
The commissioner urged students of the state to take advantage of the programme to benefit from the loan scheme.
“We have cause to be worried, that is why we are having this sensitisation programme so that we can bring our people up to speed for them to benefit from the programme. It is highly laudable and it is going to be highly beneficial to them” Paddy said.
Earlier, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Dawood Egbefo, said 51 students of the university benefited from the federal government students’ loan.
“It will interest you to know that since subscribing to the NELFUND programme, the sum of N61.4 million have been disbursed with 51 students as beneficiaries. Today’s sensitisation programme serves as an opportunity for us to explore how NELFUND can continue to serve as a beacon of hope for students in Edo. I encourage all participants to take full advantage of this platform so that you can maximise the benefits of the funds,” Egbefo said.
The acting VC thanked Tinubu for the support, growth and advancement of education in Nigeria.
“I would like to express our deep gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and unwavering support for the growth of education in Nigeria. His vision for a more prosperous and well educated nation inspires us all,” he stated.
