The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has addressed concerns regarding the exclusion of South-East institutions from recent loan disbursements to tertiary institutions across the country.
NELFUND, established under the Higher Education Act 2023, provides loans to low-income Nigerians to support their tuition fees in Nigerian institutions.
Recent claims suggested that the South-East was left out of the latest round of loan distributions.
The pro-democracy group Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) raised alarms about the alleged exclusion and criticized the National Assembly’s education committees for their lack of response.
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In a statement on Tuesday, NELFUND spokesperson Nasir Ayitogo clarified the situation.
He emphasized that geopolitical regions do not influence the disbursement process.
The omission of South-East institutions occurred because the management of those institutions did not respond to verification requests sent by NELFUND.
“NELFUND reached out to all eligible institutions for confirmation of their students listed for disbursement. Unfortunately, some institutions, including those in the South-East, have not yet responded,” Ayitogo explained.
He noted that payments were only made to institutions that completed the verification process and encouraged all institutions to finalize their verifications to enable their students to benefit from the scheme.
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In July, NELFUND initially listed 36 institutions set to receive loans, including two from the South-East: Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University and Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo.
By August 14, the agency updated the list to include nearly 100 institutions, expanding the South-East representation from two to nine.
The updated list includes Abia State University, College of Education Nsugbe (Anambra State), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (Anambra State), Ebonyi State University, and University of Medical and Applied Sciences (Enugu State), among others.
Despite this, none of the South-East institutions benefited from the most recent disbursement.
In response, the South-East caucus of the National Assembly has urged regional institutions to comply with NELFUND’s verification requirements to ensure their students receive the loans.
