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Vice President Kashim Shettima has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a major social intervention of the President Bola Tinubu administration, saying the scheme has removed financial barriers preventing children from poor families from accessing higher education.
Shettima said NELFUND had become a crucial instrument for poverty alleviation and social equality by providing tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances to students who might otherwise be forced to abandon their education because of financial hardship.
The Vice President spoke on Wednesday in Abuja when he received the management team of the University of Abuja, led by its Vice Chancellor, Hakeem Fawehinmi, according to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
He said the student loan scheme had ensured that poverty was no longer a justification for denying young Nigerians access to tertiary education.
“NELFUND is a very beautiful initiative by the leadership of this country under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, created to give respite, breathing space to the children of the poor,” Shettima said.
Recalling his own experience as a student at the University of Maiduguri, the Vice President said rising food prices could place enormous pressure on students and their families, stressing the importance of interventions that enable students to remain in school despite economic difficulties.
He described NELFUND as a “landmark initiative” capable of serving as a social equaliser by ensuring that financial circumstances do not determine who gets an opportunity to acquire higher education.
According to him, the initiative is part of the broader efforts of the Tinubu administration to tackle poverty while strengthening human capital development.
Shettima also declared that Nigeria had “crossed the rubicon” and was now firmly on the path of sustainable economic development under the Tinubu administration.
He pointed to recent upgrades in Nigeria’s sovereign credit ratings and outlooks by international rating agencies as evidence of growing confidence in the country’s economic direction.
The Vice President attributed the improved outlook to stronger foreign exchange reserves, increased oil production, higher federal allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy and the government’s ongoing macroeconomic reforms.
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Turning to the University of Abuja, Shettima commended the institution’s management under Fawehinmi for overcoming challenges that had confronted the university in the past.
He said the institution had regained stability and was now “standing on a solid pedestal”, assuring the university that the Federal Government would continue to provide support within its capacity.
Earlier, Fawehinmi praised Shettima for his support for the university and his contribution to the implementation of the Tinubu administration’s policies.
Describing the Vice President as a mentor, the Vice Chancellor said Shettima’s leadership had assisted the university’s Governing Board in navigating its challenges.
“We have always known you to be a highly cerebral and dynamic leader. We appreciate the generous strides you are making in the country. We are not surprised at your intellectual agility,” Fawehinmi said.
He also credited NELFUND with helping to restore relative stability to Nigeria’s education sector, noting that students were now better able to remain in school and sustain themselves.
“NELFUND, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, has assisted immensely in bringing relative stability in the nation’s education sector,” he said.
Fawehinmi said the university’s management and Governing Council considered it necessary to appreciate the Vice President for his continued support.
Reflecting on the institution’s recent challenges, he said: “Our recent history in terms of leadership has not been very palatable. There have been issues to do with our checkered history, but in the last eight months when we came on board, we tried our very best to stabilise the university.”
