Gombe: The National Orientation Agency (NOA) announced that the Federal Government’s interest-free loan, provided through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), is effectively decreasing dropout rates among undergraduates across the country.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the NOA Director-General, shared this information during a news conference held in Gombe, focusing on five thematic areas of the current administration. Issa-Onilu, represented by Mr. David Akoji, Director of Special Duties at NOA Headquarters in Abuja, emphasized the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to enhancing educational access at all levels. He assured that financial challenges would no longer hinder young Nigerians from pursuing higher education.
Issa-Onilu highlighted that NELFUND was established by the Tinubu administration to ensure that no qualified Nigerian is denied tertiary education due to an inability to pay fees. He stated that funding, previously a significant barrier to accessing higher education, is no longer a threat to students.
The Director-General revealed that President Tinubu’s administration had disbursed N59 billion to over 600,000 students who applied for the NELFUND Student Loan. He assured that the initiative marks the end of students being forced to leave tertiary institutions without completing their degrees due to financial constraints.
Issa-Onilu urged students in Gombe State facing financial difficulties to take advantage of the initiative, stressing that the loan scheme is available to all qualified Nigerian students attending public tertiary institutions in the country.
He further elaborated on the thematic areas discussed during the news conference, which included Government Policies, Programmes and Activities, the Nigerian Identity Project and National Symbols, and flood mitigation. Other areas mentioned were National Security Awareness to enhance community security consciousness and National Values Re-orientation for students to counter extreme practices.
Additionally, he announced Federal Government’s plans to support 150,000 youths nationwide through the National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), with N110 billion allocated for this purpose. The director-general reiterated the Tinubu administration’s commitment to positively impacting the wellbeing of all Nigerians, especially those from poor and vulnerable households.
Concerning government programmes, Issa-Onilu noted that over 2 million households enrolled in the Social Safety Nets Expansion had benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfer initiative.
