By Anayo Okoli & Steve Oko.

In response to the outrage over the non-inclusion of any university in the South East as a beneficiary of the first round of the student loan scheme, the management of Abia State University has called on interested students to apply for the loan.

A statement signed by the University’s Public Relations Officer/Head, Media, Chijioke Nwogu said:

“Following the listing of Abia State University, Uturu, (ABSU), among the institutions for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Vice-Chancellor Distinguished Professor Onyemachi M. Ogbulu, on behalf of the Governing Authorities, hereby directs interested bonafide students of the University who wish to access the loan to commence- the application process without further delay.

“The loan, an initiative by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government, provides financial support to qualified Nigerian students for tuition and upkeep during their studies in approved academic institutions in the country.

“Therefore, further to the earlier submission of the student data of Abia State University to NELFUND, interested applicants should visit the Student Loan online portal at www.nelf.gov.ng to start their application process and forward the necessary documentation.

“Please contact the Director ICS or the Students Union Government (SUG), for any issue arising during the registration process.
Be properly guided”.

Elaborating on the matter, the Registrar, Dr. Acho Elendu, explained that a team had been set up by the university to embark on aggressive sensitization of students on the scheme.

Dr. Elendu said the last batch of applications for the loan which he screened and endorsed was about 200, however, added that students of the institution had started massive applications following the ongoing awareness.

He said: “The last list I endorsed was over 200. It is a continuous thing. Some students were not aware of it but we are working to get them aware.

“There is a team going around the university to sensitise the students on their various platforms. They are made to know the importance of it, and many students are now applying”.

Similarly, the Registrar of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, MOUAU, Dr. Mrs. Nkiruka Mbanaso, said the university had also started educating its students on the need to key into the scheme.

Dr. Mbanaso who noted that the information on the scheme was received late, added that Management had sent out circulars to Colleges and Departments to mobilise their students.

She said: “Currently, we are still trying to articulate it. Even yesterday (Tuesday) when we had a Senate meeting, it was announced that students should apply. We are still at the collation stage because it was not long before the information came to us.

“We have sent circulars to Colleges and Departments, and they are still trying to gather the applications”.

Also, the Enugu State University of Science and Technology said it has enrolled but yet to benefit.

Meanwhile, the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum, (CISF) has expressed anger over this and called the Tinubu-led administration’s non-inclusion of any higher institution in the South East as a beneficiary in the first round of the NELFUND Student loan a joke taken too far.

Reacting to the development, the leader of the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum, Ephraim Okenwa wondered how students from every other geopolitical region in the country made it to the first batch of disbursement except their counterparts in the South East.

“This is not how to manage a diverse and multicultural society like Nigeria. What impression does Mr. President want Nigerian students schooling in the South East to have about their place in the scheme of things?

“The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF) also wish to respond to the claims by the NELFUND Spokesperson Nasir Ayitogo who said that “there is no consideration of geopolitical zones in the disbursement.”

“The CISF notes with curiosity why, by chance, the South East region that has long complained of marginalisation is the only region ‘unintentionally’ excluded from this first batch of interventions. This cannot be a coincidence but simply a case of negligence.

“The claim by NELFUND about the late compliance with verification by institutions in the South East is also unfounded. Provided that at least one institution in the Southeast had complied before the recent release of the list by beneficiaries, it is enough to co-opt the institution in the first batch to demonstrate the Federal Government’s commitment to the Federal Character principle.

“The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF) hereby calls on President Tinubu to recall that list and, as a matter of urgency, order the inclusion of three to four institutions from the Southeast.

“It should be noted that Igbos are equal stakeholders in the Nigerian project and must be respected as such”, Okenwa said.