AN X user, @engrico2015, has claimed that the Nigerian government excluded tertiary institutions from the Southeastern region from its students loan scheme it launched earlier this year.
He made the claim on October 1, 2024 on his X post. It read:
“When they borrowed $5b from China , they excluded southeast in the railway project! Currently the school loan also southeast was excluded!
Southeast not also good to be president, but you are bringing Boko Haram from Borno to DUMP in IMO state ! We igbos will resist you.”
The post has garnered more than 80,000 views with over 1,500 reposts and over 3,200 likes as of October 3, 2024.
CLAIM
Federal Government excludes institutions from the Southeastern region from its students loan scheme.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, as four tertiary institutions from the region have benefited from the initiative so far, according to NELFUND.
The Bola Tinubu administration introduced the Nigerian Education Loan Fund by signing the Students Loan Act in June 2023. This initiative aims to provide interest-free loans to Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions, enabling them to afford tuition fees amid the economic hardships in Nigeria. The Act was later amended and revised in April 2024.
Under the scheme, eligible students can apply for loans that cover their tuition fees, with the expectation that they will begin repayment two years after completing their education or securing a job.
The loans are managed by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), in collaboration with commercial banks and other financial institutions. The goal is to alleviate the financial constraints that prevent many Nigerians from completing their tertiary education.
In August 2024, the organization said it disbursed N2,946,927,155 of the students loan to 27,667 students from 19 institutions nationwide.
This development was after it had said students from 22 state-owned tertiary institutions had been cleared to apply for the students loan after a review by the committee for the Student Verification System, which brought the total number of approved state institutions to 108 across the country.
However, none of these institutions which received the first tranche of the disbursement was from Southeastern Nigeria. This development prompted the speculation of alleged discrimination against the region.
Meanwhile, the NELFUND clarified that the reason was due to the failure of institutions from the region to respond to its request for verification of students for disbursement.
The FactCheckHub reviewed the list of eligible institutions for the loan and confirmed that the initiative included 9 institutions from the Southeastern region which are: Abia State University, Uturu; College of Education, Nsugbe; Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University; Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki; University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Enugu State; Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University; Benjamin Uwajumogu State College of Education, Ihitte Uboma; Imo State Polytechnic, Omuma.
On September 6, 2024, the NELFUND revealed that four universities from the South-East region received the loan disbursement bringing the total number of beneficiaries across the country to 59.
The Federal Polytechnic Nekede in Imo State received N368,400.00; and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Imo State was allocated N71,016,220.00 while Ebonyi State University in Ebonyi State was allocated N78,313,000.00. Additionally, Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Ndufu, Anambra State, received N193,377,100.00, NairaMetrics.com reported.
THE VERDICT
The claim that institutions from Southeastern Nigeria were excluded from the Nigerian government’s students loan scheme is FALSE; at least, four tertiary institutions from the region have benefited from the initiative so far, according to NELFUND.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
