The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has explained why South-East was not included in the recent loan disbursements to tertiary institutions in the country.
News About Nigeria reports that NELFUND clarified claims that the agency excluded the tertiary institutions in the south-east from the list of schools to benefit from its loan disbursements.
A key voice in this assertion is the pro-democracy organization, the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy, and Development (FENRAD).
In a statement released on Monday by its Executive Director, Nelson Nwafor, the group labeled the alleged exclusion as “concerning.”
The group had also slammed the education committees of the National Assembly over their “silence” on the alleged exclusion of the south-east.
Reacting to this claim through its spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, NELFUND explained that geopolitical zones are not a factor in the disbursement process.
Ayitogo revealed that tertiary institutions in the south-east were not included in the recent loan disbursements because their management did not respond to verification requests forwarded to them.
He said, “NELFUND sent a verification list to every institution eligible for disbursement for them to confirm that, indeed, those on the list are their students. Unfortunately, we have not yet received any response from some institutions, and coincidentally, the eligible institutions, in the south-east for disbursement are part of those yet to respond to NELFUND.”
Ayitogo further noted that the NELFUND has started making payments to only institutions that have completed its verification request.
He disclosed that the agency is, again, urging all institutions to complete the verification process in order for their students to benefit from the scheme.
The NELFUND spokesperson also urged the general public to desist from believing such claims that are not just targeted at denting the image of the agency and that of President Bola Tinubu but to also spike hatred among Nigerians.
