Excitements Among Nigerian Students As NELFUND Adds Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, 21 Other State-Owned Tertiary Institutions to Students Loan Portal

By: AbdulWasiu Akintunde, Israel Adeleke, Olufemi Orunsola 

Students of frontline Ogun State-owned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, The Polytechnic Ibadan and 20 other state-owned tertiary Institutions have been cleared to benefit from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

The cheering news of the addition of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta and The Polytechnic Ibadan, Abia State University and Delta State University among the 108 beneficiary government institutions now cleared to benefit from the student loans scheme emerged on the official x handle of NELFUND @ NELFUND on Tuesday in post titled:

NELFUND Clears a Further 22 State-Owned Tertiary Institutions for Student loan Application.

The post as sighted by OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reads in part,"...the fund has announced that students from the following 22 state-owned tertiary institutions can now apply for loans on its portal:nelf.gov.ng."

It further reads: "This followed a review by the committee responsible for the Student Verification System. Prior to this, 86 state-owned institutions were cleared, bringing a total of 108 institutions whose students are now able to apply."

The post concludes by stating, in alphabetical order, the newly cleared institutions as follows:

1. Abia State University, Uturu 

2. College of Education, Nsugbe 

3. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University 

4. Delta State University, Abraka 

5. Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara 

6. Ekiti State Polytechnic, Isan-Ekiti 

7. Kogi State University, Kabba 

8. Prince Abubakar Audu University 

9. Kwara State University 

10. Kwara State College of Health Technology 

11. Abdulkadir Kure University, Minna 

12. Ogun State College of Health Technology, Ilese-Ijebu 

 *13. Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

14. Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo 

15. The Polytechnic, Ibadan 

16. The Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki 

17. Rivers State University, Port Harcourt 

18. Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic 

19. Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery, Damaturu 

20. College of Administration, Management and Technology, Potiskum 

 21. College of Agriculture, Science & Technology, Gujba 

 22. College of Education Legal Studies, Nguru 

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that students from these institutions can now apply for loans on its portal: http://nelf.gov.ng 

OTN News recalls that earlier, some 86 institutions,were cleared to benefit from the scheme, of which OTN News had on separate occasions, reported that students of some previously enlisted institutions had received the July 2024 stipend of N20,000 while we also reported University of Ibadan had recently received payment of over N201 million for it's benefiting 1,370 students.

For the records, OTN News recalls that the Student Loan scheme is a direct fulfillment of a campaign promise earlier made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who made good his promise to Nigerian students by announcing the introduction of the student loan policy on June 14, 2023, stating that it will take off in September of the same year 2023.

Unfortunately, the Student Loan scheme could not take off in September 2023 as promised by the Federal Government, leading to widespread scepticism, criticisms and pressures from Nigerian students, who observing that the student loan portal was not opened, started to doubt if the President's promise was going to end as just another political promise, never to be fulfilled, especially when the months of January and March 2024 were subsequently announced for its take off but without feasible degree of success.

The delay in the take off of the student loan has been attributed to the legislative re-enactment and re-working of the previously passed bill, sponsored by Senator Femi Gbajabiamila during the 9th Senate.

President Bola Tinubu transmitted the re-enacted Executive bill to the National Assembly in a letter dated March 14, 2024. The re-enacted the bill had then addressed the challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures, removing the controversial requirements of beneficiaries' need to have two guarantors who must either be civil servants of at least a level 12 officer, a lawyer of at least 10 years post-call experience, judicial officer or Justice of Peace.

Both chambers of the National Assembly passed the Executive bill on March 20, 2024, leading to the Act that established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a corporate entity saddled with the responsibility for the administration of students loan in the country.

Stakeholders in the education sector many of whom had vehemently criticized the initial Student Loan Bill for some of its provisions considered outrageous and capable of limiting students access to the loans have thereafter commended the new student loan Act, noting that the new Act has removed financial barriers and made education accessible to all Nigerian students, regardless of their economic background.

OTN News further reports that in the wake of the addition of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta and 21 other state-owned tertiary institutions to the list of beneficiaries, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had announced that the agency is channeling the total sum of N50 billion to NELFUND, being part of proceeds recovered by Commission from convicted corrupt Nigerians, as funds to be used to kick start the first phase of disbursement to beneficiaries from various public tertiary institutions.

Already N35billion has been reportedly disbursed to students whose institutions have commenced the 2024/2025 academic session in addition to N20,000 stipends as monthly upkeep for the benefiting students.