Abuja (Core Reporters) The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the effective oversight and success of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as it initiates the distribution of monthly stipends to students.
This was made known in a press statement signed by the house spokesman Akin Rotimi Jnr on Tuesday.
The statement reads in parts, “Recent updates through our oversight mechanisms confirm that NELFUND, under the leadership of Managing Director Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, has commenced disbursing N20,000.00 monthly stipends for July to 20,371 students across six tertiary institutions. A testament to the Federal Government’s commitment to break financial barriers in higher education.
“Additionally, NELFUND is diligently working to extend the payment process to students from approximately 55 more tertiary institutions in the coming weeks.
However, . Gboyega Isiaka (APC, Ogun), Chairman of the House Committee on Student Loan, Scholarship, and Higher Education Financing, stated, “The operationalisation of NELFUND represents a significant step forward in our approach to educational support. It is designed to alleviate financial burdens, allowing students to focus on their academic endeavors.”
“To date, NELFUND has approved and disbursed over N2,530,235,750 in student loans, benefiting 22,120 students across twelve institutions. Approximately N2,026,163,340 has been disbursed as full payment of institutional fees to over 20,000 students in six institutions.
In the wake of recent nationwide protests regarding the high cost of living and economic challenges affecting young students, the House of Representatives is committed to addressing these issues. “We are ensuring that NELFUND’s implementation effectively supports students amidst these economic difficulties. This includes expanding NELFUND to 16 additional state-owned tertiary institutions, increasing the total to 86.
“We encourage students across the federation to take full advantage of the benefits available by applying through the NELFUND portal at http://nelf.gov.ng. Institutions that are yet to submit complete student data are also urged to do so promptly to ensure their students can access the programme.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu signed the National Students Loan Amendment Bill into law on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. The House of Representatives had in March 2024, passed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024. NELFUND’s loan application portal was thereafter, launched on May 24, 2024. Since then, 160,000 students have registered for the scheme, with over 110,000 applications processed.
Meanwhile, House of Representatives hss often stated that its remained dedicated to addressing national concerns and ensuring the efficient implementation of the NELFUND initiative. In alignment with our Legislative Agenda on Social Sector Reform and Development (Agenda 5), the 10th House of Representatives will continue to advocate for measures through legislation, oversight, and outreach to ensure access to quality education and improvements in the infrastructure of learning institutions.
Group berates Tinubu over failure to address killing protesters by police
By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, Abuja
Abuja (Core Reporters) A group under the auspices of Society for Advancement of Democracy (SAD) has not only condemned President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s failure to address the issue of killing protesters by the police, but also condemned the act, saying that it is undemocratic and unacceptable. The SAD also accused the government of intending to kill Nigerian youths, for allowing at the same time and space the protests for and against in Nigeria.
The chairman of the group, Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu addressed journalists at the SAD’s national secretariat in Abuja on Monday.
Sending the message across, he said: “If he knows that there are things that are lacking, why should some people be protesting in his favour and how can any government allow at the same time and space, protests for and against; it intended to kill the youths. If you should allow protests for and against, you give each its time and space. You don’t allow protests for and against at the same time and space, it isn’t good.”
Accusing the government of taking the protesters and Nigerians for granted, the chairman said President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, should have addressed the nation before the protests, adding that addressing Nigerians at the middle of the protests is unfair to Nigerians and the protesters.
Still accusing the government of unwilling to address the ongoing protests, Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu said that for Tinubu to ask for the protests to stop, without delegating at least, about five government officials to hear out the grievances of the protesters at the national stadium, where they were confined, showed unseriousness and unwillingness to settle the issue at hand. If he doesn’t do that, the prince went on, how would he know what they are saying and what he is addressing?
Still believing that his refusal to interface with the protesters was the reason behind his inability to find out their demands, he said that the protesters believed that if fuel subsidy is dealt with, the prices of goods and services would come down. Although he noted that the president said so many good things in his broadcast, but wondered how those things would influence the inflation and the youths.
He therefore frowned at the way Mr President addressed the nation, without condemning those said to have been killed with live bullets by the police.
“Throughout his broadcast, Mr President didn’t caution those using live bullets to kill people and he is expected to condemn the use of live bullets to kill people. See the way they were said to kill people in the north, as if they weren’t human beings. Condolences are not necessarily, but stopping the killings,” he stated.
While still faulting the way the government has been going about the whole thing, he had this to say: “They confined the protesters at the national stadium, but on their way to there, it was said that the police started shooting and throwing teargas at them.”
On leaving the national stadium for Eagle Square against the order of the court, the association’s chairman saw that, as using illegality against illegality, even as he added that, placing the protesters with an injunction, was like placing that to no person, defending that the injunction wasn’t published in anywhere.
Advising the president to be serious in dialoguing with the protesters, the association however advised the protesters to go about their protests peacefully.
