Tinubu launches student loan, says education is key to fighting poverty

On Wednesday in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu delivered cheques to the first batch of recipients of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), also known as the student loan scheme.

The president stated that the student loan was critical to combating poverty, aligned with his administration’s commitment to inclusivity, and guaranteed adequate money to sustain the scheme.

“Democracy is all about inclusiveness. Our target is to build a society on successful inclusiveness,” he said. He stated that education was the most powerful weapon against poverty in any country, and that it was necessary for vision, development, and successfully confronting insecurity, such as terrorism and banditry.

The president presented the cheques to students from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Akintunde Sawyer, executive secretary of NELFUND, revealed that N32 billion was now available for disbursement to kickstart the programme. He stated that since the portal opened on May 25, 164,000 students had enrolled, with 103,000 requesting for loans.

He stated that the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, which became law on April 3, 2024, aims to empower Nigerian youths by providing fair, transparent funding and removing financial barriers to educational opportunities.

“The effect of providing this opportunity for the neediest Nigerians, the people who probably will look after us, or whose decisions will impact us in our old age, cannot be underestimated.

“And I’m sure you’ve all heard that fortune favours the brave and this courageous move will bring fortune not just to the President, but to the entire nation,” said Sawyer.

He did, however, express concern about the lack of data for determining credit search, claiming that it hampered NELFUND’s ability to determine an indigent applicant.

He also remarked that applicants from northern Nigeria were more numerous, while most states in the south questioned the scheme’s validity.

He stated that NELFund determines successful applicants based on their bank verification number (BVN), national identification number (NIN), and back-end data from educational institutions.

Lucky Emonefe, president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), stated that Nigerian students were pleased that the student loan, which had previously been a dream, had become a reality.

“It was first a Bill, then an Act and today the president has launched and disbursed it. We are very proud of this. We as Nigerian students will call it a new dawn in the education sector.”