Vice President, 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 as 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 a student at the University of Maiduguri when the price of food surged at the cafeteria, he said, “NELFUND is a very beautiful initiative by the leadership of this country under President @officialABAT, created to give respite, breathing space to the children of the poor.”