The Nigerian Education Loan Fund speaking about the launch which has been scheduled to be held today, 14th March has disclosed that a new date would be announced soon to the public.
The management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said that the postponement of the take-off of the initiative is not indefinite as reported in some sections of the media.
It said rather, the management is only awaiting approval of President Bola Tinubu to choose a convenient date for a formal launch, saying everything needed to be put in place ahead of the take-off is now in place.
The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Akintunde Sawyer, appeared on an Arise Television programme earlier, where he announced the postponement. The launch had earlier been scheduled to be held this week but Mr Sawyer said a new date would be announced soon.
NELFUND in a statement issued recently and signed by Nasir Ayitogo on behalf of Mr Sawyer, said the media misrepresented what the official said while appearing on the television show.
The statement said NELFUND is set to launch the portal for registration as President Tinubu has since approved the funds for the take-off.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) management has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media, particularly social media, suggesting that the launch of the most-anticipated student loan scheme, initially scheduled has been postponed indefinitely.
“While there has been a postponement, we wish to state that it is not indefinite, as alluded to in the reports.”
The NELFUND statement said the latest postponement “was necessitated because of the need to have all stakeholders fully aligned before the formal flag-off by President Bola Tinubu.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has postponed the take-off of the student loan scheme at least three times now.
Shortly after Mr Tinubu signed the Higher Education Access Bill into law, the then Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, David Adejoh, said the scheme was scheduled to take off in September 2023, but it didn’t.
Later, Mr Tinubu announced at the National Economic Summit Group (NEAG) conference that the implementation ‘must begin’ in January and proposed N50 billion for its take-off in the 2024 budget he submitted to the National Assembly.
The Executive Secretary of NELFUND recently announced that the initiative will take off this week but a date he has now said is no longer feasible.
The student loan is part of the implementation of the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023.
The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Bill seeks to provide loans for indigent Nigerian students to pay fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The Act establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund which is expected to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement and recovery of the loans provided.
NELFUND, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.
Its sources of funding as dictated by the Act include; one per cent of all profits accruing to the federal government from oil and other minerals; one per cent of taxes, levies and duties accruing to the federal government from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); education bonds and education endowment fund schemes.
The statement released explained the Education Loan will also be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowment and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source.
