Lawmakers from the South-East geopolitical zone in the National Assembly have expressed strong discontent over the exclusion of tertiary institutions in their region from the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
Naija News reports that on Friday, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) announced the distribution of ₦2,946,927,155 (Two billion, Nine hundred and Forty-six million, Nine hundred and Twenty-seven thousand, One hundred and fifty-five naira) to 27,667 students across 19 federal universities. Notably, no institution from the South-East was included in this distribution.
NELFUND clarified that students from South-East federal institutions have not benefited from the programme because no institution in the region complied with the required directives to allow students access to the loan.
The omission has sparked significant backlash from the Ndi Igbo community, prompting a response from the South-East National Assembly caucus on Sunday. Leaders Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Hon. Igariwey Iduma Enwo called on NELFUND to promptly rectify what they see as an injustice.
The caucus expressed disbelief over the exclusion of South-East institutions from the list, rejecting NELFUND’s explanation as insufficient.
The South-East caucus emphasized that they will not tolerate any attempts to deny students from their region the rights and benefits they deserve.
A portion of the statement released to the media reads: “The South-East caucus of the National Assembly is deeply concerned by the clear absence of beneficiaries from South-East tertiary institutions in the student loan scheme disbursed by NELFUND on behalf of the Federal Government.”
The statement continued, “With a total of ₦2,946,927,155 already allocated to 27,667 students from 19 institutions nationwide, it is alarming that South-East higher institutions are missing from this list. NELFUND has claimed that the exclusion is due to a lack of response from South-East institutions to their verification requests.
“In light of this, the South-East caucus urges all tertiary institutions in the region to comply with NELFUND’s verification requests so that our students can benefit from this national programme. We also encourage all South-East students in need of financial support to apply for the loan.
“This programme is crucial as it can help alleviate some of the barriers to accessing higher education, which is essential for personal and societal growth.
“As a community, we must not marginalize ourselves from opportunities that are available to all Nigerians. These opportunities are our right, and we must assertively claim what is rightfully ours.”
The South-East caucus is calling for immediate action to ensure that students from their region are not left behind in this important national initiative.
News Editor