The National Orientation Agency (NOA) on Wednesday said the Federal Government’s interest-free loan under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is reducing dropout amongst undergraduates in the country.
Lanre Issa-Onilu, the NOA Director General, stated this in Gombe at a news briefing on five thematic areas of the present administration.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Issa-Onilu spoke through David Akoji, the Director Special Duties, NOA Headquarters, Abuja.
He reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to improving access to education at all levels and ensuring that “financial constraints do not prevent young Nigerians from pursuing higher learning”.
He said NELFUND was established by the Tinubu administration to ensure that no Nigerian qualified to go for tertiary education was prevented from doing so as a result of inability to pay school fees.
According to Issa-Onilu, funding, which used to be the biggest challenge in accessing tertiary education, is no longer a threat to undergraduates and students seeking higher education.
The Director General said the administration of President Tinubu had disbursed N59 billion to over 600,000 students that have applied for the NELFUND Student Loan.
He assured that the era of students leaving tertiary institutions without completing their degree as a result of financial constraints was over.
He stated that the initiative showed that the Tinubu-led administration was committed to improving the wellbeing and welfare of Nigerians by empowering young Nigerians with education and skills.
He urged students in Gombe State who have financial challenges to embrace the initiative to ease the burden, stressing that the loan scheme “is available to all qualified Nigerians who are schooling in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria”.
Speaking on the thematic areas, Issa-Onilu said they include Government Policies, Programmes and Activities; Nigerian Identity Project and National Symbols, and Flood Mitigation.
He cited others as National Security Awareness towards achieving improved security consciousness in communities and National Values Re-orientation for Students of Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions against sign-out extreme practices.
He also announced plans by the Federal Government to support 150, 000 youths across Nigeria under the National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), adding that N110 billion had been dedicated to implement the initiative.
The Director General further expressed the commitment of Tinubu’s administration to impact positively on the wellbeing of all Nigerians especially the poor and vulnerable households.
On the government’s programmes, Issa-Onilu hinted that over two million households enrolled into the Social Safety Nets Expansion had benefitted from the Conditional Cash Transfer.
He said: “Trader Moni and Farmer Moni were introduced through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
“These are interest-free loans of up to a maximum of N100,000 for Trader Moni, while Farmer Moni has moved up to N300,000.”
