The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has announced that students from state universities will soon be able to benefit from the Federal Government’s loan scheme.

He made the announcement during a press briefing in  Abuja this morning.

Sawyerr revealed that the student loan fund’s website has attracted over 60,000 visitors since its launch.

He also mentioned that over 90% of federal institutions have already submitted their lists of eligible students, with only two federal universities and two federal polytechnics yet to comply.

The loan scheme, which aims to provide interest-free loans to indigent students, will extend its benefits to students of state universities within the next three weeks.

The Act, also known as the Students Loan Law, was introduced to help underprivileged students pursue their educational goals in any Nigerian tertiary institution.

It led to the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, responsible for processing loan applications, grants, disbursements, and recoveries.

While the scheme was initially slated for a September launch, it faced multiple delays, eventually leading to an indefinite postponement in early March.

The Presidency attributed the delays to President Bola Tinubu’s directive to expand the scheme to include loans for vocational skills.

On January 22, after a briefing from the NELFUND team led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, President Tinubu directed the Fund to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programs.

For further details and updates on the student loan scheme, interested individuals can visit the official website of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.