NELFUND Explains South-East Exclusion from Recent Loan Disbursements

 

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has clarified why South-East institutions were not included in the recent loan disbursements for tertiary institutions.

NELFUND, established under the Higher Education Act 2023, provides loans to assist low-income Nigerians with their tuition fees. There had been claims that South-East institutions were omitted from the loan distribution.

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) criticized the exclusion and accused the National Assembly’s education committees of not addressing the issue.

NELFUND spokesperson Nasir Ayitogo responded, stating that geopolitical zones are not considered in the disbursement process. He explained that the South-East institutions were not included because they did not respond to NELFUND’s verification requests. 

Ayitogo noted that NELFUND had sent a verification list to eligible institutions to confirm student details but had not received responses from some, including those in the South-East. As a result, payments were only made to institutions that completed the verification process.

In July, NELFUND initially listed 36 institutions for disbursement, including two from the South-East: Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University and Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. An updated list in August increased the South-East institutions to nine, including Abia State University and Ebonyi State University.

Despite the update, none of the South-East institutions received funds from the latest disbursement, prompting the South-East caucus of the National Assembly to urge compliance with NELFUND’s verification process to facilitate future loan distributions.