The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF) has called the Tinubu-led administration’s non-inclusion of any higher institution in the Southeast as a beneficiary in the NELFUND Student loan a joke taken too far.
Reacting to the development in a statement made available to PACESETTER in Enugu, the leader of the Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum, Chukwuma 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 Southeast to have about their place in the scheme of things?”, Okenwa queried.
“The Concerned Igbo Stakeholders Forum (CISF) also wish to respond to the claims by the NELFUND Spokesperson Nasir Ayitogo said that “there is no consideration of geopolitical zones in the disbursement.”
“The CISF notes with curiosity why, by chance, the Southeast 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 Southeast 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 coopt the institution in the first batch to demonstrate FG’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”, the statement read.
Recall that Tertiary institutions in the South-East were left out of the list of beneficiary schools in the first phase of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) disbursement.
According to the circular released by NELFUND, more than N2.9 billion has been approved and disbursed in loans for the payment of tuition fees for more than 27,000 students in 19 higher institutions in Nigeria.
However, none of the 19 institutions is from the South-Eastern part of the country, while the other five geopolitical zones have at least one institution on the list.
When contacted about the absence of South-East institutions on the list, the fund’s spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, told Peoples Gazette, an online newspaper, that the recent disbursement of funds was not based on geopolitical zone consideration.
“There is no consideration of geopolitical zones in disbursement,” Mr Ayitogo said.
He noted that only institutions that have responded to NELFUND verification lists sent to eligible institutions across the country are being credited.
“NELFUND sent a verification list to every institution eligible for disbursement. Only institutions that have responded are being paid. We are yet to get any response from the institutions from the South-East.”