Gombe, Nigeria: The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has affirmed that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is significantly reducing undergraduate dropout rates across the country.
Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the NOA Director General, stated this in Gombe at a news conference on five thematic areas of the present administration.
Issa-Onilu spoke through Mr David Akoji, the Director of 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.”
Issa-Onilu said the Tinubu administration established NELFUND to ensure that no Nigerian who qualified to go for tertiary education was prevented from doing so, as a result of inability to pay school fees.
According to him, 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 who had applied for the NELFUND Student Loan.
The director general assured that the era of students leaving tertiary institutions without completing their degree due to 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.
Issa-Onilu 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, the Nigerian Identity Project and National Symbols, and flood mitigation.
He cited others, including National Security Awareness, to achieve improved security consciousness in communities, and National Values Re-orientation for Students of Secondary Schools and tertiary institutions, aiming to counter 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 positively impacting the wellbeing of all Nigerians, especially the poor and vulnerable households.
On government programmes, Issa-Onilu hinted that over 2 million households enrolled on the Social Safety Nets Expansion had benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfer.
