By Ngozi Nwankwo
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has assured students that beneficiaries of the student loan scheme will not be restricted from travelling abroad after graduation.
Managing Director and Chief Executive of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, made this clarification during a sensitization programme at Edo University, Iyamho, on Wednesday, while addressing students’ concerns about potential travel limitations.
“The law that set up the Nigerian Education Loan Fund does not limit your ability to go and look for work wherever you want. You are not tied. It doesn’t say you cannot leave Nigeria because you have a loan with us. You can go wherever you want to go in the world. It is not possible for you to say that I can’t travel around the world.
” However, I think the right and proper thing to do, if you have a loan in Nigeria and you want to get a job somewhere else, is to pay the loan yourself back to your country,” Sawyerr explained.
He encouraged students to take advantage of the loan scheme to ease the financial burden of education on their families, emphasizing its unique benefits compared to other loan types.
According to Sawyerr, the loan repayment structure is interest-free, even if repayments stretch over a decade.
“I want you to embrace it and I want you to act upon it because, if you miss this opportunity, it’s one that will affect generations… You know why? Because NELFUND is different from all other types of loans. It is the only loan you can take to acquire something that can never be taken away from you,” he said.
While expressing the commitment of the Fund to always ensure transparency in all its dealings, Sawyerr said NELFUND will be fully ready to disburse N135 billion if all the applications received so far are fully processed.
“We have received about 520,000 registrations and about 419,000 applications. We have processed and paid 261,000 students. Both upkeep and institutional fees. Our total exposure today, if we were to pay everybody that has applied, is somewhere in the region of N135 billion. But we have not processed all those people. We have got the money and we are ready in case all of them get processed. We can disburse N135 billion,” he said.
Also speaking, Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Paddy Iyamu, pledged the state government’s commitment to ensuring students across the state fully utilize the scheme.
“We want the students of those schools to apply so that they can benefit from this programme because it is highly laudable and it is going to be highly beneficial to them. We are going to be telling all the heads of the tertiary institution with a constant reminder.
“Now they have heard from the national, so it is now left for us, back home, to drive home the point. And continuously we shall pass on the message to each and every student in the district so that they can apply and benefit from this programme,” Iyamu said.
Acting Vice Chancellor of Edo University, Professor Dawood Egbefo, applauded the initiative, revealing that 51 students from the university had already benefited from N61.4 million in funding during the 2023/2024 academic session.
In an earlier sensitization visit to Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, NELFUND expressed concern over low application numbers, with only 102 students applying, amounting to less than N20 million.
Lami Suwaid, Director of Loan Allocation and Distribution, NELFUND, urged the university to take advantage of the new registration cycle to boost participation.
The Acting Vice Chancellor of AAU, Professor Sunday Olowo Samuel, represented by the Director of Academic Planning, Prof. Eunice Omoregie, reiterated the university’s commitment to driving awareness and increasing student enrollment in the scheme.
“The programme is designed to educate and sensitize our students on the various initiatives and programmes offered by NELFUND. The goal is to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to take advantage of the opportunities and make informed decisions about your future,” Omoregie said.
The event at Ekpoma also drew students from Edo College of Education, Igueben.