By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has finally approved the disbursement of federal government-backed student loans.
In a press statement published on its X platform on Thursday, the directive was given following its inaugural board meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
Signed by its Head, of Media and Public Relations, Mr Nasir Ayitogo, the statement said the meeting marked a significant milestone in the organisation’s commitment to empowering students through financial support.
It said, “Under the leadership of the Board Chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, top in agenda was the approval for disbursement of student loan to successful applicants.
“This decision underscores President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s dedication to providing timely and essential financial assistance to students in need, enabling them to pursue their educational goals without undue financial stress.
“By approving the immediate disbursement of the loans, NELFUND is taking a critical step in fulfilling its mission to support education and empower the next generation of leaders.”
The inaugural meeting also set the stage for future initiatives, aimed at enhancing educational opportunities and providing comprehensive support to students across various disciplines.
Also present at the meeting were the management of the fund led by the Managing Director/CEO, Akintunde Sawyerr and representatives of member organisations.
The development comes days after reports that NELFUND announced a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loans for state institutions due to low data submissions.
Ayitogo, on Tuesday, said the decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions, to upload the required student data and fee information to the NELFUND Student Verification System (SVS).
To date, it said only a limited number of state-owned institutions have completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and 2 state polytechnics out of 49.
It said, “While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants.
The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will commence on July 10, 2024, according to Mr Ayitogo.
President Tinubu on April 3, 2024, signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
Modupe Gbadeyanka