By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) established by the administration of President Bola Tinubu as a landmark initiative that has provided crucial financial relief to the children of the poor and removed the financial barriers to higher education.
The administration, according to him, positioned the Fund as a vital social equalizer and a primary mechanism for poverty alleviation as well the advancement of education in Nigeria.
Senator Shettima stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during an audience with the management team of the University of Abuja, led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi.
The Vice President said that by ensuring tuition fees are covered and providing monthly upkeep allowances, the scheme—which targets students from less-privileged backgrounds who would otherwise be excluded from tertiary education—has ensured that poverty is no longer an excuse not to go to school.
Recalling his days as student at the University of Maiduguri when the price of food surged at the cafeteria, he said the “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.”
VP Shettima also observed that Nigeria has crossed the rubicon and is firmly on the path of sustainable economic development under the Tinubu administration.
He cited the recent upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit ratings and outlooks by global rating agencies, attributing the success to stronger foreign exchange reserves, higher oil production, increased federal allocation following the removal of oil subsidy, and the ongoing macroeconomic reforms undertaken by the Renewed Hope administration.
He applauded the management of the University of Abuja under the leadership of Prof. Fawehinmi, saying the Vice Chancellor has provided leadership that has surmounted the challenges that confronted the school in the past.
The University of Abuja, he observed, is now standing on a solid pedestal, as real stability has been restored in the institution, even as he pledged that the federal government will do everything within its ability to give the school the needed support.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Fawehinmi commended Vice President Shettima for supporting and spearheading the growth and developmental strides of the Tinubu administration.
The Vice Chancellor described VP Shettima as a mentor whose leadership qualities have assisted the University’s Governing Board to manage the school, even as he sought the institution’s partnership with the government to move the country forward.
“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,” he stated.
Prof. Fewehinmi said NELFUND, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, has assisted immensely in bringing relative stability in the nation’s education sector, pointing out that students are able to go to school and are able to sustain their stay in the school.”
He stated that the management as well as the Governing Council of the University of Abuja deemed it necessary to thank the Vice President for the support he has always given to the school.
“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 stabilize the university,” he explained.
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