President Bola Tinubu has directed the management of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to expand its focus area by extending interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes. The President issued this directive at the State House on Monday after a briefing from Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, Executive Secretary of NELFUND, on the build-up to the launch of the programme later in the month.
The President said it is important for the scheme to accommodate those who may not want to pursue university education, noting that skill acquisition is as important as obtaining undergraduate and graduate academic qualifications.
Addressing State House Correspondents after briefing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the impending launch of the scheme, the Executive Secretary of the Student Loan Board, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr alongside Chairman of FIRS, Zack Adedejii said that a specified portal has been dedicated to the scheme to eliminate human intrusion. TRK-UP-Akintunde Sawyerr Chairman of FIRS
Zack Adedejii-Chairman of FIRS Barely one week earlier, the Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, revealed that the scheme was on track to go live in January 2024 as the President promised last October.