A number of university students who recently received the N20,000 stipend from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund have commenced celebrations following the disbursement.

While some individuals took to social media to express their astonishment, others recounted their expenditures on essential food items.

A few students mentioned that this financial assistance alleviated some of the financial burdens on their parents. Financial difficulties represent a significant obstacle for many students enrolled in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

The inability to secure adequate funding has prevented numerous young individuals from pursuing their education, as their parents or guardians struggle to afford the costs associated with higher education.

Reports indicate that a total of 20,371 students from six tertiary institutions received N20,000 each for their stipends for the month of July.

The institutions that benefited from this financial support include Bayero University in Kano State, Federal University in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, University of Ilorin in Kwara State, University of Benin in Edo State, University of Ibadan in Oyo State, and University of Maiduguri in Borno State.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund initiated the distribution of these stipends to students whose tuition fees had already been covered by the agency on August 5, 2024.

Emmanuel John, a third-year student in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Ibadan, expressed his disbelief regarding the payment when he initially applied for the funds.

 

He said, “I applied for N240,000, to be disbursed as N20,00 monthly. I plan to use it to get foodstuffs monthly, and clear other bills.

“I was excited to get the money, because I initially thought it was going to be one of the several failed promises from the government.

“This will definitely ease the burden on my parents, as I will disturb them less.”

An Accounting student at the University of Maiduguri, Muhammed Buba, expressed surprise upon receiving an unexpected financial windfall. He promptly utilized the funds by purchasing essential food items from the market.

He said, “I am not financially buoyant, so I get help from my friends and some other people who support my education.

“I received the money after coming back from school. I had earlier got some money from my parents, but the high cost of living and inflation didn’t allow me to get enough foodstuffs with the money. What I got could not last me for a month.

“I was thinking of how I would manage the little foodstuffs I had for a month when I received the N20,000 stipend from NELFUND. I was excited and rushed to market to buy more foodstuffs. I spent N15,000 on foodstuff, and saved N5000 to get some other things I might need.”

Malik Ibrahim, a student at the University of Ilorin’s Faculty of Education, expressed his delight upon receiving the stipend by celebrating with his peers.

He said, “I thought it was a scam alert when I received the message. I had just N100 in my account. When I checked my bank app and saw a balance of N20,100, and saw that the payment was from NELFUND, I was so happy, and could not contain my joy.

“I made a screenshot of the alert and posted it on my faculty’s WhatsApp group. Some other people acknowledged the payment as well. We went to school the following day to celebrate spending N1000 each. We declared that it was NELFUND we were spending.

 Students are anticipating the distribution of loans, while the university has prolonged the registration deadline.

“The money will take care of my transportation fare for this month. I appreciate Mr President for this.”

An enthusiastic student from the University of Maiduguri, Mudassir Muhammad, shared his thoughts on his X account, “I don’t know why Nigerians still think that NELFUND is lying about the disbursement to certain institutions. I am from UNIMAID. I applied and received the money two days ago.”

Yet X user, @Absanchh, wrote, “I received mine too. No doubt, it meant a lot to me and I’m grateful to NELFUND and the president.”

Confirming the receipt of the N20,000 payment, Taiwo Egbeyemi, a fellow student at the University of Ibadan, composed a written statement, “I have received my N20,000 upkeep.”

Likewise, a student at the Federal University of Dutsin-Ma, Tukur Muhammad, stated, “I received my upkeep loan from NELFUND. I am really happy because the money will help me to carry out my academic activities.”

Our correspondent, however, discovered that a few students had complained about not receiving any payment.

Speaking on Sunday, the Fund’s Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, stated that some of the students had not been verified and approved.

Oluwatuyi said, “Not all students from the six institutions were paid because some of them have not yet been verified and approved. Some registered earlier than others. The students who have not been paid will receive their payments as soon as they are verified and approved.

“The six institutions were selected based on their academic calendars. They are all in their first semesters. More disbursements will be made to other institutions in the coming days. The N20,00 is also part of the loan; it is not a grant.”

In response to the recent developments, the Academic Staff Union of Universities raised concerns regarding the NELFUND loan disbursement process. They questioned why the loan could not be disbursed to all universities simultaneously. The union reiterated its opposition to the loan, emphasizing that it does not support the loan initiative.

The National President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, said, “I have not seen any student who received the money in my university. In Nigeria today, there are almost 100 public universities, and they are giving how many of them? Let us see what happens after all the universities have been paid.

“Why couldn’t NELFUND pay all the universities when all of them applied at the same time? We don’t know what is happening.

“As a union, we have said we are not in support of the loan. We are not even talking about the immediate effect; we are talking about the long-term effect.

“As a union of intellectuals, we look at the long-term, not the immediate. A student gets a loan and by the time they graduate, they have a debt of about N1m hanging on their necks, when they are not even sure of when they will get jobs. That’s what we are talking about.”

The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Akinteye Babatunde, stated that the loan would alleviate the financial burden experienced by the recipients and their parents.

“We hope that the students will pay the loan when it’s time to pay back so that others coming behind can also benefit from it. It will surely ease the financial burden on the students and their parents,” he said.