The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has issued a five-day ultimatum to the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) board to release a detailed account of how student loan funds were distributed.
The demand followed mounting concerns over transparency in the student loan scheme, particularly after the National Orientation Agency (NOA) alleged that some institutions, in collaboration with certain banks, were making fraudulent deductions from student loan payments.
Adding to the controversy, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) revealed in a recent preliminary investigation that although NELFUND reportedly disbursed N100 billion as student loans, only N71 billion could be accounted for.
The developments sparked public outrage, leading members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to stage a protest on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State on Monday.
In a communique released on Wednesday and signed by NAPS President, Eshiofune Oghayan, and Senate President, Oyewumi Ayomide, the association insisted that NELFUND must publish specific figures showing how polytechnic students benefited from the loan.
“We issue a five-day ultimatum to the NELFUND board to publicly provide detailed breakdown of how funds were disbursed. Specific figures showing how polytechnic students benefited,” they said.
The statement further warned that failure to comply with the demand would result in nationwide protests and additional actions.
“Organise a mass protest with 0.9% of Nigeria’s 28.1 million students; File petitions with the DSS and EFCC for a full-scale investigation; Pursue democratic means, use all democratic means to seek justice,” the statement partly reads.
LEADERSHIP recalls that NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, had dismissed the claims of missing funds. Speaking on Sunday during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’, he defended the integrity of the loan scheme.
He said, “We are all looking for this so-called money. First of all, let me be very clear. No money has been stolen.
“The President, in his wisdom and well-intentioned programme, decided that he was going to set up the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.
“So the funds that we’ve been given is to bridge the gap for those who don’t have the money to be able to attain the education.
“No money is missing. No money has been stolen. There had been some issues with what happened at the phase of this where human intervention comes in.”
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