The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has clarified that there is no bias in the allocation of student loans to institutions across Nigeria, following concerns raised about the absence of South-East institutions among the beneficiaries.
NELFUND explained that loans are disbursed only to institutions that have completed a necessary verification process. This response comes after an X user, Santiago Leo, tweeting as #Donaldsplendo, noted that none of the institutions from the South-East region were listed among the 19 institutions whose students had benefited from the student loan program.
He raised concerns that institutions like UNIZIK, FUTO, MOUAU, and the University of Nigeria (UNN) were excluded, even though students from those schools had applied for the loan.
In response, NELFUND took to social media to clarify the situation, explaining that they had sent a verification list to every eligible institution across the country.
They stated that only the institutions which had completed the verification process were included in the disbursement. NELFUND added that nearly N3 billion in loans had been distributed to 27,667 students across the 19 responding institutions.
The organization emphasized that their selection process is not influenced by geopolitical zones.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet received any response from the institutions in the South-East. We urge these institutions to complete the verification process so that their students can benefit from the scheme,” NELFUND tweeted.
