Tinubu: Video Shows Nigerian Students Celebrating NELFUND Loans, Presidency Reacts
- The presidency has celebrated the singing and praising of President Bola Tinubu by some students of Sokoto State University
- In a video, the students have taken to the corridors of their hostels to commend the president after they received disbursement from NELFUND
- NELFUND is a scheme established by law to give loans to Nigerian students in public institutions across the country
The presidency has celebrated the praise of President Bola Tinubu after receiving disbursement from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), a body established by law to give educational loans to Nigerian students.
Sunday Dare, the special adviser on media and public communication and spokesperson to President Tinubu, shared the video of the jubilating students in a social media post. He added that over 400,000 students across Nigeria have benefited from the scheme.
Source: Twitter
According to Dare, the NELFUND scheme is one of the progressive educational initiatives for Nigerian students. The NELFUND loans are expected to be repaid by beneficiaries after their three years of leaving the institution.
Nigerians react to NELFUND loans
Dare's post has started generating reactions from some Nigerians. Below are some of their reactions:
General Jesse commented:
"The North are known to always maximise FG interventions, whether in Agriculture, SMEs, Community Development, Loans for Corpers, or now NELFUND. We on the South side: we would doubt and deny the program, and even disenfranchise ourselves from the interventions."
Nwach criticised the government:
"This is sheer propaganda targeted at Northern interests, but the informed know that the student loan policy is a falacy. You give loans to students and then increase school fees, knocking out the essence of the policy, thereby tying the poor students to debt all through their lives."
Source: Twitter
Alex John commended the government:
"What is wrong with paying back the loan? They are given a chance to educate and go to university like in England, where there is a student loan, which they will have to pay back when they start working. Kudos to the President."
Cecy Balogun opined:
"The last I remembered, it is a student loan. What are the modalities for repayment? Is the government also putting in place employment mechanisms that will enable these young people to earn decent salaries to pay back? I see another trader monie and farmer monie without recovery."
Sadi Gama decried the system:
"This isn’t something to celebrate; it only shows that Tinubu and the APC have made young people jobless and unable to afford their school fees without relying on loans. It’s a shameful reflection of an administration that put them in such a difficult situation."
See the video of the celebrating students here:
Youth advocate: Student loans need job support
NELFUND is a commendable initiative, but it risks failure unless backed by a strong student employment ecosystem, a youth advocate has warned.
Kingdom Ogoegbunam, executive director of the Platform for Youth and Women Development, said many Nigerian students are hesitant to take loans due to the bleak post-graduation job market.
“NELFUND cannot succeed in isolation,” Ogoegbunam told Legit.ng in an exclusive chat.
“Students need assurance that they can repay loans through meaningful employment or enterprise after school.”
He urged the government to establish structured income-generating programmes within schools, including digital skills hubs, creative incubators, and agro-enterprise platforms. He also advocated for income-contingent loan repayment plans that protect graduates who are unemployed or underpaid.
“Loan repayment should be flexible and fair. Nobody should be penalised for being jobless,” he said.
Ogoegbunam further recommended embedding mentorship, business support, and internship opportunities into the NELFUND scheme to ease students’ transition from education to the workforce.
The NELFUND, launched by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aims to expand access to tertiary education through student loans, but concerns persist about implementation and sustainability without complementary employment support measures.
No governor will work against Tinubu, Sani
Legit.ng earlier reported that Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has posited that it would be difficult for any Nigerian governor not to support President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
Governor Sani explained that no Nigerian president has ever supported the states and local governments as Tinubu has done.
The Kaduna governor made the comment amid alignment and realignment from the ruling APC and other opposition parties in the country.
Legit.ng's head of politics and current affairs desk, Nurudeen Lawal, contributed a youth development advocate, Kingdom Ogoegbunam's reaction to this report.
Source: Legit.ng
